Beautifully illustrated and well written. This book provides children with language they can use to explain how they are feeling when things get difficult and the story provided reassurance that perseverance pays off in the end. The story is simple enough for younger children (3 or 4) but has enough depth to still be relevant for older children (8 or 9) so it would be good to use in a whole school assembly about overcoming tough situations.

This is a really cute rhyming picture book, all about overcoming difficult times and feelings of anxiety or sadness. Written in a simple way, understandable for children and accompanied by lovely, colourful illustrations.

4.2 Stars

The picture book is in rhyming verse that’s easy to follow. The illustrations and the tone go hand in hand with the mood of the book. The Struggle Bus deals with the sadder and scarier emotions. The book shows that it’s okay to feel sad. There’s nothing wrong with being lost, not knowing what you want, or not being able to do something others can.
The book humanizes suffering, while also giving hope that one can overcome the fear, pain, and doubt by being persistent, asking for help, and trying to work things out. Making mistakes is fine, and they are chances to learn and do better.
Using the bus as a metaphor to deal with complex emotions is a lovely way to explain things to kids. The book would help start discussions with little ones.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and Kind World Publishing and am voluntarily leaving a review.

The Struggle Bus has everything that I would want in a book that supports social-emotional learning. The text is charming, with spot-on pacing and rhymes that feel natural as you read. It validates the difficulties that young children face, as well as their big feelings, while also giving them tools to move through their feelings to problem-solve and move forward. The illustrations use color to reflect the mood of the story, while also using white space to draw attention to specific elements. Overall, this picture book is highly recommended for preschool and primary grade students.

This book is about the struggles of life and to keep on going. Your friends can help you when you are struggling. I love the pastel colours and the cute illustrations. The questions and tips are also helpful. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book.

When your bus breaks down and you need to stay calm. climb aboard the Struggle Bus.

The Struggle Bus is a journey for pre-school age children who are feeling overwhelmed with all that is expected of them and what they sometimes expect of themselves. It can be frustrating. It is a reminder that hard things make your brain grow and give you confidence. We look to problems as to avoid them but embracing them is for our good. This is a great tool for that.

A special thank you to Kind World Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

5⭐️

This was adorable!! I’m currently in grad school for school counseling, and this would be a great addition to an elementary school counseling curriculum or library. The artwork is whimsical, the message is important, and it shows kids it’s ok to have big feelings :)

Good verse, and few large words per page, help convey the story of the child in this book, as he travels from being down in the dumps, frustrated and annoyed, back to a place where he can find pleasure, and returning to an even keel all the better for the experience. An expressive bus, and the chorus-like refrain to the text, make the emotions in the narrative very accessible.

Hilariously realistic for adult readers, this charming tale is the perfect way to introduce kids to the concept of the "bumps in the road." There are ups and downs we face each day and sometimes as we travel down the path of life we find ourselves on the struggle bus.

The struggle bus is a term many of us adults are very familiar with and use often, but this metaphor is a great way to explain challenging situations, difficult feelings and overall rough days to young minds. This story was an absolute delight to read from the first page to the last and I adored feeling like I was in on a little inside joke as an adult reading it.

This story was both entertaining and educational, which can be a tricky balance to maintain in a children’s book, and I will be suggesting it to teachers whenever possible. Mental health is such a critical part of childhood that often gets overlooked. Incorporating social and emotional education into children's picture books is a tried and true way to teach an important life skill in a way that is fun. This would be an amazing addition for classroom libraries, counselling offices and more.

This story was adorably illustrated. The watercolor-esque pictures were cute. The hand painted feel to them was a nice touch rather than the overproduced computer generated images we often see. The prose was simple and rhymed, making it an easy read for a budding young reader, but the simplicity of the words did not undermine or detract from the power and importance of the message behind them. There were a few bigger words that a very beginning reader may struggle with, such as conquered. There are many words that also make great vocabulary words to discuss the meaning behind, such as persevere. This can be used in lessons about coping skills and resilience, as well as character and life skills.

Absolutely, a must read.

This is a very cute picture book about feelings. The story of a boy's struggle is told through the metaphor of a struggle bus ("Grumble, rumble, bump and blow, the struggle bus begins to go"). The rhyme flows well and isn't forced.

The illustrations are very cute, and feature a boy with light brown skin. When his friends appear to support him, they appear Asian, Black, and Caucasian.

I love that this book doesn't demonize bad feelings. Instead, it tells kids that it's okay to feel sad, everyone struggles, and if you keep trying, you'll persevere. It finishes with some notes about how practice and mistakes help your brain grow, and strategies for encouraging positive thinking. This end matter is presented in fun ways that will be appealing to kids.

Thanks to Netgalley and Kind World Publishing for a free digital copy.

With lovely illustrations, this book brings to life the struggle we can all sometimes have of feeling alone and lost in our problems. Highlighting things we can do and how we can ask for help, this is a great tool to start conversations that will lead to better emotional health.

This was a lovely picture book with adorable art.

I love the message that it is OKAY to feel your feelings- and there are people who are ready to help if you want them! I loved the rhymes, and I really appreciate that this book incorporated some tougher vocabulary words- I love using picture books as a way to introduce new phrases!

Thanks for the sneak peek!

What a precious story! The illustrations were beautiful and eye catching and the children's psychology is laid out in such an easy and relatable way to encourage asking for help and not bottling feelings. Well done!

What a fantastic book! I absolutely love the art style and the rhymes were so much fun! What a fun way to teach kids about healthy coping mechanisms, asking for helping, and understanding that everyone goes through hard times. My only concern is the use of some big words at the end such as "persevere, clambered and conquered", but for the sake of the rhymes I understand why they were used and it gives kids the chance to learn new words!

Thank you NetGalley for providing a free copy of this book in return for an honest review.

What a fun and lyrical way to put emotions, which can be complicated and confusing, into simple story for little ones to appreciate they are not alone and to ask for help but to accept the way they feel and know it isn’t wrong.
Serves as a good reminder for the adults too I’m sure, we could all do with a reminder to ask for help!
Illustration was simple yet colourful and in keeping with the story.

Fun, musical and imaginative, this book was an adventure in perseverance and growth mindset! I really enjoyed the phrasing and theme of the struggle bus. I think it’s a fun way of thinking through hard times. I do not know however, if I’d use it in the classroom. I don’t know that I need a kid going home and saying “Mrs. S said I’m on the struggle bus today

The Struggle Bus by Julie Koon is a story of perseverance delivered in soothing cadence against a beautiful backdrop of color.

I have a toddler and a baby so this book hit home for us on so many levels. First off, it has a bus! Toddlers love buses! Toddlers also have big feelings and this book is a great reassurance that no matter what we are feeling, we can always get through it. I loved the steady rhythm of the words which made it easy to read, the illustrations are eyecatching, and I really loved the little mini-lesson at the end to explain perseverance as well as the helpful suggestions of what to do.

The Struggle Bus is a great kids book and we will be picking this one up. I suggest you do too!

Delightful illustrations accompany the rhyming text in this children's book about dealing with negative feelings like anger and frustration. At the end of the book is a list of ideas to help children calm themselves when they're feeling angry or have a hard time dealing with their feelings. There's also a little section about how struggling can benefit developing brains, explaining that children learn the most when they make mistakes, thus normalizing failure as part of the learning process.

Written by a school counselor, The Struggle Bus would be a good read aloud for storytime at the library or in the classroom as the repetitive "Grumble, rumble, bump, and bop" invites the listener to participate in the story. I would also recommend it to parents of young children who want to help their children develop their social emotional learning skills.

While this is a kid's book, it was a much needed reminder that this adult needed! We all hut bumps in the road but the important thing is that we keep moving that struggle bus, no matter how slowly you're driving.