Little Yellow Bus by Erin Guendelsberger

Little Yellow Bus by Erin Guendelsberger
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Ride along in this heartwarming picture book about bravery and facing your fears, a wonderful Christmas gift!

The Little Yellow Bus had prepared for this day for a long time and how great it would be to pick up children and drive them to their school building―all by himself! Yellow wanted to feel excited, but instead, he was filled with first day worries. With a little help and encouragement from Mom and Dad, Little Yellow takes a deep breath, starts his engine, and decides that it’s time to prove to himself that he can be brave.

Little Yellow Bus is the heartwarming reminder that sometimes even the days when we are scared and anxious can become the most wonderful adventure, if we only believe in ourselves. Filled with beautiful full-color illustrations and an inspiring message for kids, this timeless story about courage is one you will want to come back to again and again.

Worrying doesn’t solve anything, but that doesn’t make it any easier to stop doing.

Even though the word anxiety was never used, this was such a detailed and accurate description of that condition. I found myself nodding along as Yellow described all of his symptoms and explained to the readers why he was so afraid to begin driving children to school. His fears were all realistic ones which made his predicament even more relatable.

I did find myself wishing that Yellow’s parents had been more supportive of him when he shared his fears with them. They were quick to tell him that everything was going to be okay without listening to the unspoken messages he was trying to share with them. This is still something I’d read to the little ones in my life, but I’d do so after talking to them about how anxiety can warp the way you think and how I’d always be there for them to help them tangle out legitimate concerns from ones that might be a little overblown.

With that being said, this was still a heartwarming look at a common mental health problem. I appreciated its good intentions and enjoyed the fact that Yellow’s first day as a school bus was nothing like what he worried it might be. The message in it is a timeless one that works for all age groups.

Little Yellow Bus was a thought-provoking read.