ay-Jay is a very special bus. He’s not a school bus or a city bus. He’s a playbus. All summer long, Jay-Jay visits different parts of the community so that the children can enjoy playing on him, in him, and around him. The end of summer is marked by a special carnival and a parade. Jay-Jay is the key attraction. But on his way to this year’s carnival parade, Jay-Jay has some engine problems and his driver has to pull off the road when he stalls. Will Jay-Jay make it to the parade on time? And who is this smartly dressed man who stops to help? Teacher and author, Sue Wickstead has written several books on the Jay-Jay theme. Her stories are based on the real playbus, Bewbush Playbus, which is a regular feature in the annual Crawley carnival parade. Families work together to create a special bus to demonstrate the annual theme. In her picture book story, Jay-Jay and the Carnival, Jay-Jay is decorated and painted to feature the theme of flight. “Supersonic” was painted on Jay-Jay’s side, along with an airplane to make the playbus truly fit into the theme. This is a beautiful, fun little story with exciting and colorful illustrations. The fact that the story is based on a real playbus makes it all the more interesting. The story promotes the idea of play - real play, imaginary play - something sadly missing in today’s world. Children are encouraged to play on the playbus, to use their imaginations, and to create something truly fantastic. A simple story, packed with good, positive vibes.

It's always nice to catch up with Jay-Jay and find out what his latest adventure will be. This is the third of the books I have read with my five year old son and each one is an absolute pleasure. Jay-Jay is a double decker bus converted into a playbus for children to have fun aboard. He's bright and colourful and the children love him. At the end of the school holidays there is a carnival and Jay-Jay is going to be part of the parade but on the way he breaks down. Oh no! His driver, in his funky stripy jacket doesn't know what to do but luckily a man in a big black car stops and rings a mechanic who comes to fix Jay-Jay straightaway so he doesn't miss the carnival. The parade itself is fantastic. There is a band, people are dressed up in all manner of costumes and great fun is had by all. Jay-Jay gets the star prize and it's presented to him by....yes, you guessed it.....the man in the suit who just happens to be the mayor. This is another gorgeous book for children. It's vibrant with really engaging illustrations and all was well in the end for Jay-Jay which is what we both wanted to hear. I don't know if there are any more Jay-Jay books but I'm wondering what he's going to get up to next. All in all, this is a really lovely book for young children and we particularly enjoyed the fairground/carnival happy feel to it.