Granny Franny’s Big Red Bus is the first children’s story written by TV producer Sonia Beldom – who in 2018 fulfilled her life long dream of qualifying as a bus driver! Sonia decided to write this book to raise funds for bus-related charities during COVID-19 and we’ve been given a copy to read and share our thoughts on.
Synopsis:
Granny Franny is always surprising her grandchildren with sensational stories and surprise days out. One day she decides to do something super special for their birthday. She buys a big red bus to take them on a magical tour of London; what she’s forgotten is that she can’t actually drive a bus. Then she meets Thinkerbell, the talking bus bell and everything changes.
First of all, as always, Ellie got very excited when she realised she had a new book to read. She looked at the front cover and read the words “big red bus” which was made her even more excited to read it together. We talked about what she thought Granny Franny might be doing and decided she was going on holiday.
Ellie is very intrigued by rhyming words at the minute and is always trying to rhyme words when she is mumbling to herself (her favourite being “wee wee, pee pee, tee pee”) so we talked a lot about the different rhyming words in the book and she tried to spot them herself.
While reading I noticed the illustrations are big and colourful – perfect for young children. Granny Franny is aimed at children aged 3-7 but could be shared to younger children and primary aged children too.
I thought the book was great, there was a clear message of love between Granny Franny and her grandchildren, a sense of family and compassion. There were so many talking points throughout too such as the other vehicles helping Thinkerbell.
Ellie’s Thoughts:
I asked Ellie what she liked the most about Granny Franny’s Big Red Bus and her reply was:
Thinkerbell is funny and has a silly voice and does lots of rhyming words. I liked the bus getting stuck in the sticky mud and the fire man coming to save the day.
Disclosure: I was gifted a copy of Granny Franny’s Big Red Bus in exchange for an honest review. All views, opinions and images are my own
Mothering A Rainbow 