Bus Route to Boston [Paperback]

Maryann Cocca-Leffler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2009 | Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

Author-illustrator Maryann Cocca-Leffler remembers her frequent bus trips to Boston with her mother and little sister, conveying all the warmth and simple pleasure of childhood memories and the people and places that made them special.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3-Cocca-Leffler re-creates a favorite memory from her childhood-going to Boston on Saturdays to shop with her mother and younger sister. She and her sibling know all of the bus drivers, and one in particular, Bill, is their favorite. He gives them free rides down the block, takes an interest in their ball games, and even helps them off the bus with their packages after a day of shopping. They return the favor by always remembering to save him a cannoli, fresh from the bakery. Text and illustrations combine to paint a vivid picture of Boston during a more leisurely decade, and of the North Side, an Italian enclave of small stores where even today shopkeepers and customers know one another by name. The language is simple and unadorned, as befits the child narrator. The artist's double-page spreads, rendered in acrylic, are large enough for group sharing. They contain such touches of humor as a large woman trying to stuff herself into a dress at Filene's Basement, the siblings trying on oversized hats, and oranges tumbling from a stand at the outdoor vegetable market. The girls and their mother eat ice cream at Bailey's on chairs with metal heart-shaped backs. Cars with fishtail fins roll down the street while laundry hangs overhead, suspended from one window to another. A charming slice of life in a time past.
Marianne Saccardi, Norwalk Community College, CT
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

Most young listeners will be sympathetic to the excitement felt by two small sisters when the bus that goes "all the way into Boston" passes down their suburban street. Buses and trains are almost magical conveyances to children, offering them transport into the wider world beyond their doorsteps. The author-illustrator captures the look and feel of a suburb (with city skyscrapers beckoning in the distance), and the excitement of shopping in Filene's Basement (the original one) and then eating "a big ice cream sundae" at Bailey's (only Bostonians will realize how much of a nostalgia trip this is, since Bailey's has been gone for more than a decade). It is hard to predict how much resonance shopping in Boston's North End, or buying vegetables and fruit at the Haymarket will have for children living elsewhere, but the pleasure of riding a public conveyance to a new and exotic destination is nicely captured in this low-key text with evocative pictures. A 2000 Parents' Choice® Approved winner.

Reviewed by Selma G. Lanes, Parents' Choice® 2000 --From Parents' Choice

This warm, loving memoir will have plenty of resonance for today's children. Cocca-Leffler recalls what it was like to be young, living just outside Boston, and waiting for the bus to take the family into the city. The ride, with friendly Bill the driver, is lots of fun, but more excitement awaits in the city: a sale at Filene's, where shoppers try on clothes in the aisles; sundaes at an ice cream parlor; a trip to the North End to buy fruit and vegtables; cannoli to eat on the bus ride home. Bill gets a pastry, too, and calls his riders "the Cannoli girls." Even if the particulars aren't familiar, children will know the excitement of a visiting a bigger town and going shopping, and recognize the happiness of being back home. The oversize, nicely crowded acrylic artwork, which features two sisters and a sometimes harried mother, is lots of fun. Whether it's two women tugging on the same dress or catching all the delicious details of a North End bakery, the pictures clearly show what make experiences like these such a part of childhood. --Booklist

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Boyds Mills Pr; Reprint edition (August 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590787471
• ISBN-13: 978-1590787472
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.3 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #983,386 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Website: www.maryanncoccaleffler.com
My PLAY: www.princesskimthemusical.com
my Blog: www.maryanncoccaleffler.blogspot.com

I've been writing and illustrating children's books for more than 25 years and have published over 50 books. I graduated from Massachusetts College of Art in 1980 with a BFA in illustration. My Italian childhood sneaks into my books. The first book I wrote and illustrated was "Wednesday is Spaghetti Day". My books "Bus Route to Boston" and "Clams All Year" are family stories which I hold dear to my heart. Recent books include "Rain Brings Frogs-A Little Book of Hope" ,"Princess K.I.M and the Lie that Grew" and "Princess Kim and Too Much Truth", which are currently being made into Pristin K.I.M The Musical. Broadway here I come! Please keep checking my website and blog to see my new books or learn news about upcoming projects. I live and work in NH where I write and illustrate on an average of two books a year. I have two wonderful daughters and a supportive husband who are the first ones to see my ideas (love to torture them!).
I'd love to hear from you.
Maryann Cocca-Leffler

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars back to childhood, August 7, 2002

By 

Elizabeth Kearns (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bus Route to Boston (Hardcover)

I felt like I was reliving my childhood! I grew up in Boston and remember the excitement of having special days in town with my mother. We would end our wonderful day by stopping by Bailey's for a sundae. She would recall her special days with her mother and doing the same things that we did!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful, nostalgic trip, April 29, 2000

By 

Cheri (Nashua, NH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bus Route to Boston (Hardcover)

This story hit such a resonant chord. While my trips into Boston originated in Madlen, MA, and we traveled on the T, my childhood experiences in the Basement and all the fun of a day in Boston have been captured in this wonderful picture book. It has brought back such wonderful memeories that I feel like it was written just for me.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fun nostalgic look at The Hub, July 31, 2004

By 

audrey (white mtns) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Bus Route to Boston (Hardcover)

The author relives fond childhood memories of travelling into Boston with her mother and sister to visit Boston's Italian North End, riding the bus and visiting Filene's Basement, an ice cream shop, produce market, butcher and baker. especially fun for kids familiar with Boston, this book would also be of interest to those who ride the bus, like shopping or hold an interest in Italy.