a great way to help young children visualize and accept their hardships and rough days! by taking readers through the main characters's hard time start to finish, the struggle bus shows kids that bad days aren't linear, and that there are things to help -- but letting yourself feel what you feel is good, too. the rhyme schemes flow really well and will make for fun readalouds, and the prompts at the end gives kids and their caretakers easy ways to talk about bad days, along with some tips to feel better when you're on the struggle bus.

A familiar concept of feeling overwhelmed or struggling is manifested with a struggle bus. Notes that its okay to feel your feelings. Friends can help and things will get better. Good backmatter in giving kids ideas of things they can do when they feel like they're struggling but it would have been nice for one or two at least of these activities to be demonstrated while the boy was on the struggle bus.

This was a beautifully illustrated book on dealing with our struggles and the power of perseverance. My children really enjoyed reading it. They especially liked the part when the bus grew wings and soared. Love the tidbit at the end for tips on how to redirect and regroup after a frustrating experience.
Thanks to Netgalley and Kind World Publishing for an e-copy.

Using the metaphor of the "Struggle Bus" this story illustrates that everyone has challenges and down days. Sometimes we just need to feel our feelings, some times we need to get support, and sometimes we can use various coping techniques to help ourselves through tough times.

This book is full of expressive language and fun sounds that kids can repeat. There's also a brief but useful section at the end that suggests various things kids can try when they need to feel better. Pre-K kids probably won't entirely grasp the bus metaphor, but it may start to resonate for early elementary. Either way, it's a nice resource to start a conversation about feelings and how to manage them.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

I loved this book! I think it is an excellent way to help children learn to process their emotions and offer ways to help cope and move past the big feelings. The story is simple and will keep kids engaged. The illustrations are bright and fun. A great book for parents to read to their little one on those extra hard days.
Thank you Netgalley and Kind World Publishing for the opportunity to read this eARC.

Simple rhyming children's picture book about perseverance that includes a couple tips about dealing with big feelings. The artwork is simple and cute.

I read the digital version. I feel like it may be better as a physical book. It doesn't hold my son's interest in digital format. Three and a half stars - four stars (I think the physical one would be more engaging for my two year old and thus four stars).

I received an arc copy but my opinions are my own.

I love books that help teach social and emotional awareness. We can all relate to being on the struggle bus throughout our lives. Teaching kids how to deal with emotions through books is my favorite way to teach them. Through the cute illustrations and great rhyming text kids learn how to deal with frustration and anger emotions. I think all kids need help with that.

What a fabulously simple accessible book about the ups and downs of our 'struggles'.

I can think of many lessons where this book would be beneficial. It is suitable for a range of ages depending on the focus. For all ages, I would use this to discuss the Growth Mindset, resilience and perseverance. For younger readers, i would like to use it to introduce our emotions around struggles. For older students, I would use it to discuss emotions and regulation stategies. I would also like to use this book during Philosophy for Children sessions as there are a few concepts in here that could lead to interesting enquiries with deeper questioning.

More possibilities: science- the brain, technology- force & friction, expressive arts: drama- enactment, music- sound map the journey, dance- movement and levels, art- landscapes or blending. Health & Wellbeing- possible triggers, emotions, where we feel it in our bodies, behaviours and regulation strategies. Literacy- agony aunt letters, descriptive settings/character

This was one of my favorite children’s books I’ve read in recent times. As an adult I often joke about “riding the struggle bus.” This was such a fun way to put a visualization to the saying. I loved that even though the child in the story rode the struggle bus, they were able to use tools and friends to help support the bus (and themself) through the tough time. An added bonus was the strategies for coping with a tough time. Highly recommend this book.

THE STRUGGLE BUS is about all the struggles we face every day. It is told in rhyme with a catchy refrain. I would recommend this book. We know that children are resilient. But they also need to need to help to understand what they cannot put into words.

All of my kids are very familiar with the struggle bus and we talk about! I know they would love it! It is beautifully written for kids to relate and understand. It is a great conversation started as well as a reference when they find themself in a challenging situation. That is all an educator can ask for. This book is not revolutionary in nature but attacks the challenge of asking for helping and showing we all struggle in a profound way.

This is a cute story about how we all go through hard times and how to get support when it happens. I read to my daughter a lot and I would definitely go back to this one. I liked how the end gave suggestions for what to do when you’re feeling overwhelmed.

I like the rhymes in this book, and I think it would be great for SEL (Social Emotional Learning) lessons, or even discussions about growth mindset. I can see this book being used in various contexts within a school, particularly to demonstrate to kids the importance of not giving up. I also think the reflection questions and suggestions for how to cope if “your bus breaks breaks down”.

Love the simple art style, plenty for a child to look at and find things. Very cute rhyming story about how everyone has bad days but you can get through it and tomorrow is a new

This was a fun book, filled with rhyming text, and cute illustrations. This book aims to help kids learn that it is okay to struggle, it is okay to feel overwhelmed, and it is okay to ask for help.

This beautifully lyrical read is the perfect perk-me-up for anyone who is going through a hard time, regardless of age. A wonderful reminder to keep going even when the going gets tough.

The Struggle Bus is a story of a kid and a bus that symbolizes moving through hard times and coming out the other side. I adore the message of this book. I think it explains to children very well how emotions can bring us down and that we can look to other for help. I teach adults emotion regulation skills and The Struggle Bus communicates the same messages I teach them. I also enjoyed the illustrations and rhyming of the book. A very well done book and one I think all parents and teachers of young child should have in their library.

The Struggle Bus is a story for young children to help explain situations where one may struggle and how to move past feelings of frustration. The story begins with a young person who is experiencing something hard and the struggle bus arrives. This is a bus that is adorable and has anthropomorphic features which young children should enjoy. The story is speaking directly to the reader and is written in second person point of view. The message is simple and direct: with practice, perseverance, and help from friends, you can do hard things.
This is wonderful story for all children, especially for children who are having a difficult time learning a new task/ activity. As a teacher and a mother, I have often heard “it’s too hard” while children are learning a new skill. I have often responded with keep going because you can do hard things. This would also be excellent for students with disabilities to encourage them to persevere. It would also be perfect for students who are gifted because struggle can be particularly challenging for a student who typically excels in all tasks. I will be adding this to my classroom library.

This was such a fun read! I love books that encourage kids to dig into their emotions. The Struggle Bus does a great job showing the path to emotional resilience without being too heavy. The rhythm of the book is fantastic, great for read-a-louds and spaced out well on the pages to make for easy reading.

I loved this book, and will definitely be using it in my classroom. The illustrations are beautiful, inclusive and impactful, the story is told in an easy to read and understand rhymes. I am always in awe of talented authors who also illustrate their own books, and this shows in The Struggle Bus - Julie Koons message is important, relevant, and impactuful.

Disclaimer: In exchange for an honest review, I am thankful to Kind World Publishing, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of The Struggle Bus.