Award-winning author Sarah Ellis grew up in a family that loved to share stories and read books. Passions that lead her to become a children's librarian and eventually to start writing books herself. Ellis's awards include the Governor General's Award, the Mr. Christie's Book Award and the Vicky Metcalf Award. She lives in Vancouver, B.C.
Ruth Ohi has illustrated over 40 picture books and novels, and has written several of her own, including Pants Off First.
"This charming, enjoyable romp will have your young ones reading
along with delight and great fun. It is a gently reassuring tale of
the relationship between a young girl and her bus driver, who spend
time together riding the bus through the streets of a bustling
city. It is Sarah Ellis's first book for young readers and I hope
that she will try it again. Claire is a bold and likable child who
announces the stops that the bus makes and watches the frantic
energy of the passing city which is in constant motion. Listeners
will joyously revel in the repetitive text that tells her story;
and be envious of Claire and her independence, as well as her
helpful nature. Ruth Ohi's use of red in the lovely watercolour
paintings draw attention to the many details that will have readers
and listeners feasting their eyes on the energy that is the bus
route that Claire shares with someone very special. The surprise
ending will have young readers smiling in harmony with their new
friend, Claire." - Sally Bender, Books for Kids, Brandon Sun "Ruth
Ohi's bright and beautiful paintings leave little room for text,
but Ellis's well-chosen words don't require much space. This book,
one to look at and listen to, features a small girl named Claire
who sits right up at the front of the bus. As the driver calls out
the stop, Claire announces the reason why you might get out there.
So, for instance, if the driver calls out Moss Road, Claire says
Museum and the bell says "Ding!" Passengers getting on and off are
closely observed and the end of the line produces a gentle
surprise." - Susan Perren, The Globe and Mail "In the big business
of writing books for small people, simple definitely does not mean
easy. It takes a particular savvy. As an adult, Canadian children's
writer Sarah Ellis still possesses that child's sense of wonder and
a fascination for the apparently simple joys of life. She
understands the complexity of apparent simplicity. In Next Stop!
aimed at the pre-school to kindergarten crowd, Ellis has left her
usual young adult territory. She knows how important buses are.
They can be an important part of daily life at a certain age. Ellis
tells the story of Claire, who is certainly old enough to put in
her own ticket. She seems to be riding the bus by herself. That is
mysterious and intriguing; perhaps a big worrying, too. Repetition
is one reason buses are fun. People keep getting on and people keep
getting off and you never know who will be next, but Claire stays
on and helps the driver. She knows what is at each street. The
driver calls out "Green Lane." Claire announces "Shopping mall."
and "Ding," says the bell. Finally, Claire's mum gets on the bus
and kisses the driver who turns out to be Claire's dad. Claire was
safe after all, and her father is a bus driver! Illustrator Ruth
Ohi echoes Ellis's wonder in the variety and detail of life on and
off the bus in her happily coloured mixed-media paintings." -
Elizabeth MacCallum, The National Post "Ellis stays true to the
small child's viewpoint --A baby gets on. The baby is in a
stroller. The stroller is pushed by a Dad..), and Ohi's
ink-and-watercolor pictures extend the words to capture vignettes
that Claire glimpses on and off the bus. The pictures never get too
busy for the young audience, who will recognize Claire's
fascination with seeing strangers in a crowd and imagining each
person's story, from the busy lady with a cellphone to the boy with
rainbow shoes. This is more than a situation; there's a simple plot
and a surprise. Claire's mom gets on and kisses Claire and the
driver: he's Claire's dad, and the next stop is home." - Booklist
"Working with about 300 words, award-winning novelist Sarah Ellis
has written Next Stop, her first picture book. Its text is the
height of simplicity, in both structure and vocabulary . . . The
text pattern is repeated throughout, forming the spine of the
story. Ellis knows that street names are abstractions to kids: they
navigate by landmarks -- libraries and shopping malls and parks.
Ellis also makes sure that her descriptions are very much those of
a child, right down to the vocabulary and details. . . Some
illustrators may have felt downcast at the prospect of illustrating
a book that takes place entirely on a bus, but Ruth Ohi, who excels
at small domestic details, combats the visual limitations of the
setting by cutting back and forth between the inside and outside of
the bus, and putting plenty of people and activity in every
double-page spread. Sometimes she creates mini-dramas: a woman's
dumped groceries on the bus floor, a lost toy being returned by
Claire, a crying toddler who has dropped her ice cream. The
simplicity of the vocabulary is an asset for children just
beginning to read." - The Quill and Quire
"This charming, enjoyable romp will have your young ones reading
along with delight and great fun. It is a gently reassuring tale of
the relationship between a young girl and her bus driver, who spend
time together riding the bus through the streets of a bustling
city. It is Sarah Ellis's first book for young readers and I hope
that she will try it again.
Claire is a bold and likable child who announces the stops that the
bus makes and watches the frantic energy of the passing city which
is in constant motion. Listeners will joyously revel in the
repetitive text that tells her story; and be envious of Claire and
her independence, as well as her helpful nature.
Ruth Ohi's use of red in the lovely watercolour paintings draw
attention to the many details that will have readers and listeners
feasting their eyes on the energy that is the bus route that Claire
shares with someone very special. The surprise ending will have
young readers smiling in harmony with their new friend,
Claire."
- Sally Bender, Books for Kids, Brandon Sun
"Ruth Ohi's bright and beautiful paintings leave little room for
text, but Ellis's well-chosen words don't require much space. This
book, one to look at and listen to, features a small girl named
Claire who sits right up at the front of the bus. As the driver
calls out the stop, Claire announces the reason why you might get
out there. So, for instance, if the driver calls out Moss Road,
Claire says Museum and the bell says "Ding!" Passengers getting on
and off are closely observed and the end of the line produces a
gentle surprise."
- Susan Perren, The Globe and Mail
"In the big business of writing books for small people, simple
definitely does not mean easy. It takes a particular savvy. As an
adult, Canadian children's writer Sarah Ellis still possesses that
child's sense of wonder and a fascination for the apparently simple
joys of life. She understands the complexity of apparent
simplicity. In Next Stop! aimed at the pre-school to kindergarten
crowd, Ellis has left her usual young adult territory. She knows
how important buses are. They can be an important part of daily
life at a certain age. Ellis tells the story of Claire, who is
certainly old enough to put in her own ticket. She seems to be
riding the bus by herself. That is mysterious and intriguing;
perhaps a big worrying, too. Repetition is one reason buses are
fun. People keep getting on and people keep getting off and you
never know who will be next, but Claire stays on and helps the
driver. She knows what is at each street. The driver calls out
"Green Lane." Claire announces "Shopping mall." and "Ding," says
the bell. Finally, Claire's mum gets on the bus and kisses the
driver who turns out to be Claire's dad. Claire was safe after all,
and her father is a bus driver! Illustrator Ruth Ohi echoes Ellis's
wonder in the variety and detail of life on and off the bus in her
happily coloured mixed-media paintings."
- Elizabeth MacCallum, The National Post
"Ellis stays true to the small child's viewpoint --A baby gets on.
The baby is in a stroller. The stroller is pushed by a Dad..), and
Ohi's ink-and-watercolor pictures extend the words to capture
vignettes that Claire glimpses on and off the bus. The pictures
never get too busy for the young audience, who will recognize
Claire's fascination with seeing strangers in a crowd and imagining
each person's story, from the busy lady with a cellphone to the boy
with rainbow shoes. This is more than a situation; there's a simple
plot and a surprise. Claire's mom gets on and kisses Claire and the
driver: he's Claire's dad, and the next stop is home."
- Booklist
"Working with about 300 words, award-winning novelist Sarah Ellis
has written Next Stop, her first picture book. Its text is the
height of simplicity, in both structure and vocabulary . . . The
text pattern is repeated throughout, forming the spine of the
story. Ellis knows that street names are abstractions to kids: they
navigate by landmarks -- libraries and shopping malls and parks.
Ellis also makes sure that her descriptions are very much those of
a child, right down to the vocabulary and details. . . Some
illustrators may have felt downcast at the prospect of illustrating
a book that takes place entirely on a bus, but Ruth Ohi, who excels
at small domestic details, combats the visual limitations of the
setting by cutting back and forth between the inside and outside of
the bus, and putting plenty of people and activity in every
double-page spread. Sometimes she creates mini-dramas: a woman's
dumped groceries on the bus floor, a lost toy being returned by
Claire, a crying toddler who has dropped her ice cream. The
simplicity of the vocabulary is an asset for children just
beginning to read."
- The Quill and Quire
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