Ten Rules You Absolutely Must Not Break If You Want to Survive the School Bus

By John Grandits and Michael Allen Austin

A hilarious picture book about surviving the school bus and the first day of school.
 

* “Outrageously humorous.” —School Library Journal, starred review

* “Worthy of being shelved next to Jon Scieszka’s funniest.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review 

Kyle is dreading his first trip on the school bus. Luckily, his big brother, James, is a school-bus expert. James gives Kyle ten rules for riding the bus that he absolutely, positively must obey if he wants to avoid getting laughed at, yelled at, pushed around, or even pounded. On his fateful first ride, Kyle struggles to remember and follow each of his brother’s rules, but along the way, he learns the school bus isn’t so bad after all—and he may even have a thing or two to teach his brother.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Oct 9, 2018
• ISBN: 9780547748788

John Grandits

John Grandits is a book and magazine designer and the author of Technically, It's Not My Fault and Blue Lipstick, award-winning books of concrete poetry, and the picture books Ten Rules You Absolutely Must Not Break If You Want to Survive the School Bus, which received the Texas Bluebonnet Award, and Seven Rules You Absolutely Must Follow If You Want to Survive the Cafeteria. He and his wife, Joanne, live in Red Bank, New Jersey. Visit him online at johngrandits.com.

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Reviews for Ten Rules You Absolutely Must Not Break If You Want to Survive the School Bus

[jenica_flores-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

His older brother is walking him to the bus stop for the very first time. Riding the bus is not as easy as it seems. There are 10 rules to follow in order to survive the school bus, but there is an extra rule in the end that will surprise you. I would read this to all grades to have a fun read and to introduce lists.

[elizabethhogeland · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Every big brother tries to "help" their siblings get through their first days of school, this book is no different. In ths fun story, Kyle takes his brother's list of rules to survive the school bus but quickly catches himself breaking every single rule on the list. In the end, he realized his brother was just trying to scare him as siblings do. It was a fun book to read.

[pussreboots · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Ten Rules You Absolutely Must Not Break if You Want to Survive the School Bus by John Grandits follows Kyle on his first day at a new school. The previous year he had walked to school and his brother had ridden the bus. Now that they've moved, it's Kyle who has to ride. Can he survive the ordeal by following his brother's list of rules?One by one, and followed by hilarious illustrations, Kyle manages to break his brother's rules. He's sure he's going to get clobbered on the ride home. But out of the mess that he makes of his brother's advice, he manages to make friends and find his own rules to survive by.

[rachelbowers · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book is wonderfully illustrated and a good tool to allow children to predict what will happen next. There will be tons of giggles in the classroom as you read aloud the ten rules of surviving the school bus. As an activity I would have the students write their own set of rules to their own story (i.e. how to survive the playground, first day of school)

[srogel1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved reading this book! I thought it was super cute and funny! It would work really well as a read-aloud for a younger elementary classroom! Even though it is not an informational book or has any pertinent information, it is such a well-written book that can be enjoyed my many students! My favorite parts of the book are the story and the illustrations! Having the story revolve around a list of Ten Rules you absolutely must not break if you want to survive the school bus is extremely creative! This way, each of the rules is evident and accented throughout the story line and the students can keep track of what each rule is and what particular rules have been broken. For example, each rule is shown in different fonts and colors to draw the readers’ attention to them. Also, the text/story goes into each rule with an ellipsis so the students/readers can anticipate the next rule coming. During a read-aloud, the teacher can fluctuate their voice to prepare the students for the upcoming rule and the students can also keep track of what number the rule will be or make predictions on what the rule might be. The illustrations are the other reason that I truly enjoyed this book! Each illustration is extremely captivating and fun! For example, the characters are not portrayed as normal school children and the animals that they are portrayed as reflect the initial reaction that the main character had toward them. The bully is portrayed as a grizzly bear, the bus driver is portrayed as a hawk, and the girl who talks to the main character is portrayed as an octopus/kraken. Hopefully the students will make this connection when reading the book!

[kdjones9 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed reading this story aloud to my second grade students! We had great discussions on exaggerating, humor, realistic vs. fantasy, and more.

[librisissimo · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Satire, but kids will like it and adults will understand it. 

[l_cochran · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I think that this story could be relatable for any child who has been nervous or anxious about a new experience. I thought that the story itself was a bit verbose before we reached the actual "rules," but after this came along, I enjoyed the story. It was fun to accompany Kyle on his bus trip as he accidentally broke all of the rules. I also liked that the illustrator made the author's similes come to life.

[tricha11-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In my opinion this is a good book for young children to read. The story goes through a life even just about all students encounter. At one point or another, we are all afraid of the school bus. The story went through almost everything that a child might be scared/nervous about and at the end shows that everything is ok. The first reason I enjoyed the book was because of the point of view. The story was read from a first person point of view and would make a student feel like they personally knew the child that was encountering the nerves of a first day at school. Second, I enjoyed the plot because it was very relatable to what children go through. I remember my first time riding the bus and crying hysterically. So for me it brought flashbacks and I know other children will feel the same. The third reason I enjoyed this book was the illustrations. They were scaled depending on how the main character was feeling. For instance, when sitting next to the big kid on the bus it showed him looking up at a big bear. That was a good example of how young kids view coming into a scary situation and sitting next to a much older/bigger student. The big idea of this book was to show children that in most cases riding the bus and your first day of school will not be as intimidating as you think and of course as rule number 11 states, “Never, absolutely never, pay attention to your big brother’s list of Ten Rules You Absolutely Must Not Break if You Want to Survive the School Bus!”

[sullywriter_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The story is entertaining but the illustrations are quite unappealing.

[christian3mehalic · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a very funny book just from the title. Any story that contains a list of rules is sure to have some humor in it, and this book was no exception. The story is of a young boy who is about to take his first bus ride to school. His older brother has given him a list of rules to follow so as not to mess anything up on his first day. In the end, all the rules criss-cross each other and eventually the young boy acts like himself and does just find. It is a good story of one being themselves and not letting anything else change that.

[janee23 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Kyle is nervous as any other little boy who has or will experience their first day of school. But, Kyle has an older brother who has given Kyle ten rules to follow about riding the school bus. As if Kyle was not nervous enough, he begins his first riding the school bus trying to follow all ten rules. Of course things go terribly wrong or so Kyle thinks. This such a funny book and realistic concept about siblings.

[schuman_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Loved the illustrations as well as the story. I think kids can relate to not only riding the school bus but also listening to their big brothers "advise"