Jay-Jay and his Island Adventure by Sue Wickstead #Review #Giveaway

I am delighted to welcome Sue Hickstead's picture book, Jay-Jay and his Island Adventure to Cat and Mouse Reading today. Today, this picture book for 5-8 year olds is hosting a Giveaway. Details on how to enter are at the foot of this post.  
  
Jay-Jay the Supersonic Bus is not an ordinary bus taking you on a journey. He is a Playbus. Find out what happens when he is invited to an island where the children have never seen a double-decker bus - and certainly not one full of toys!

Behind the story in Sue's own words:



'Jay-Jay and his Island Adventure', was originally written for a Scottish book bus.



'Play,Talk, Read' was the project which visited remote areas if Scotland to encourage reading in the very young. It was a great success and the bus even visited the Shetland Islands travelling on a very small ferry.



The children had never seen a double-decker on their island before and certainly not one to play on.



However, the Scottish project was too busy with referendums and with the book ready and edited I changed the name of the bus from Benji, sending Jay-Jay instead.



The island on the cover of the book was based on a piece of mainland Spain which I have visited many times.



Cap D'Or is the promentory near to a little village of Moraira.



The villagers in Moraira invited me to read this book in their library and local schools.



The people in this little village were surprised to find that Jay-Jay was a real bus.



(Jay-Jay may not have got to Spain in reality but in my imagination he did and now all of the books are in the local library in both Teulada and Moraira.)






The picture book continues the good start made in Jay-Jay the Supersonic Bus. The illustrations are bold and colourful and put the bus at the centre of the story. There is a good balance of text and pictures which always relate to the story. 
    Jay-Jay is relatable despite being a double decker bus! His thoughts echo the insecurities which children can relate to and our sympathies are with him. This is a lovely book to share with young readers with plenty to talk about in the story and the illustrations.
Cat and Mouse say:  Don't miss the bus! 
 
I am a teacher and an author and have currently written six children’s picture books with a bus theme.


For over 20 years, alongside my teaching career, I worked with a Children’s Charity, The Bewbush Playbus 


Association, which led me to write a photographic history book about it.


I soon found that many children had never been on a bus before, let alone a ‘Playbus’ and they wanted to know more. I decided to write a fictional tale about the bus, his number plate JJK261 gave him his name.


‘Jay-Jay the Supersonic Bus,’ came out in print in 2014. It is the story behind the original bus and is his journey from a scrap-yard to being changed into a playbus for children to play in. From Fact to fiction the bus journey continued.

This story has now been followed by five more picture books.
I also undertake events and author bookings and love to share the story. There are also a few more stories in the writing process, with links to real events and buses.

The story has been read in many schools in the south-East of England, where I teach as a cover teacher, it is always well received and certainly different.

You can follow Sue here: Website   |  Facebook   |  Twitter
Book links: Website  |  Amazon UK  |  Amazon US 
   |  Waterstones  |    W H Smiths  |  Book Depository 
   |   Foyles  |   Barnes and Noble

Check out the rest of the tour!
 
 Giveaway (UK only)


Giveaway to Win Jay Jay and the Carnival (UK Only)


*Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Comments

  1. Thank you for being part of the blog tour for Jay-Jay and his Island Adventure, I am glad you enjoyed the book and the illustrations too.
    Indee I agree, 'Don't miss the bus!'
    Sue Wickstead

    ReplyDelete

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