All Aboard for the Bobo Road

PreS-Gr 2—Fatima and Galo are helping their father, Big Ali, by loading the luggage for a trip to Bobo. Traveling along the Bobo Road in Burkina Faso, the children have the best view of the wild animals, waterfalls, and rock domes all around them because they ride on top of the bus. In this colorful picture book, readers are transported to West Africa for an everyday adventure to an extraordinary place. The tale capitalizes on the sights and sounds surrounding the children but also attempts to integrate counting in the narrative of the text. From the front flap, readers are instructed to "help count three bikes, seven melons, and even ten chickens," and the narrative does include a progressive buildup of things added to the bus (two mopeds, three bicycles, four cans of cooking oil, etc.); however, counting is never reinforced through the design of the text or any repetition in the story. Corr's images are vibrant folk-style depictions, created with gouache, that invite readers to experience a new kind of bus ride.