View source for The Toy Bus (The Repair Shop Stories) by Amy Sparkes and Katie Hickey

{{infobox1
|title=The Toy Bus (The Repair Shop Stories)
|sort=Toy Bus (The Repair Shop Stories)
|author=Amy Sparkes and Katie Hickey
|reviewer=Sue Magee
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=A delightful story with the added bonus of the inclusion of the people who appear on ''The Repair Shop''. It's neatly done: the child will enjoy the story and the reader will have fun spotting their favourite experts from the programme.  The book is based on a true story from ''The Repair Shop''.
|rating=4.5
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=32
|publisher=Walker Entertainment
|date=March 2023
|isbn=978-1529504774
|cover=1529504775
|aznuk=1529504775
|aznus=1529504775
}}
Elsie and her little brother David loved to go to the park and watch the red buses drive past.  Elsie would race the buses along the side of the park but David couldn't - he'd been born with cerebral palsy and even just standing up was very difficult.  One day Elsie spotted a bus in the toy shop window which would help David - and was happy to use the coins from her money box to pay for it as cash was tight at home.  Gradually, David learned to stand up, use the bus for support, and walk behind it.  Many decades later, Elsie brought the bus, now damaged and rusted, to the Repair Shop, hoping that the experts there could make it so that her grandchildren could play with it.

It's a lovely story of Elsie's unselfishness and David's persistence and determination.  He works harder than most children have to do to learn to stand up and then walk - but he does it.  He will never be able to walk without support - we see a picture of him later as he stands with his sister and the rest of the family and he uses a zimmer frame.  No mention is made of this in the story - it will be up to the child to ask the question - but it's a gentle nudge to the fact that life is always more difficult for some people.

I liked too that the story isn't built around the all-too-common white family.  There are usually a couple of children, one girl with blonde hair and blue eyes and a boy with brown eyes and hair.  There would be no visible sign of any infirmities, such as a pair of glasses.  Elsie's grandchildren are black - and this follows through into the ''other'' part of the story.  Normally, a children's picture book would be limited to the story of the purchase of the toy bus and David learning to stand and take a few steps.  But ''The Toy Bus'' takes the story on a couple of generations and we learn about how the bus was repaired in the ''Repair Shop'' where there's a wonderful, eclectic mix of experts.  The illustrations are good - and you'll recognise all your favourites if you're a fan of the programme.

Even if you've never seen the programme this is a book which children and readers are both going to enjoy.  There is a lot to discuss on every page and I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.

My introduction to this series was [[The Christmas Doll (The Repair Shop Stories) by Amy Sparkes and Katie Hickey|The Christmas Doll]].

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[[Category:Amy Sparkes]] [[Category:Katie Hickey]]