The Naughty Bus by Jan and Jerry Oke

Jan and Jerry Oke’s The Naughty Bus is a brilliant example of how a seemingly simple picture book can challenge reader expectations and expand the possibilities of narrative for children. In this inventive and original book, a young boy receives a toy London bus as a gift and immediately begins to play. What sets The Naughty Bus apart is its playful, almost postmodern style. Right from the breaking of the fourth wall in the opening line, “This is for you. You can be the driver,” the reader is pulled directly into the story.

The language is simple but carefully chosen. Short sentences and clipped commands, “Stop. Go. Faster. Wait.”, mimic the speed and energy of a bus journey. They’re fun to read aloud and little kids can’t help but join in with the rhythm of the words. The brevity of the text also demands rereading, allowing children to linger on the images and explore the bus’s “naughty” antics through inference and interpretation.

And oh, those illustrations are extraordinary. Rather than using traditional drawings or paintings, the book uses photography to place the toy bus in “real-life” situations: rushing through flower beds, plunging into a plate of baked beans, skidding across a table. This creates a jolt of realism and humour, as if the toy has sprung to life. It also blurs the boundary between playtime and storytime, encouraging children to carry the narrative into their own play with toys.

There are fascinating layers of meaning at work here. At one level, the story nods to real buses. The “naughty bus” mimics what a real bus might do, zooming off, splashing through puddles, charging down streets. But of course, this bus doesn’t follow the rules of the road. Instead, it misbehaves, swerving into flowerbeds or plunging into a plate of baked beans. The normal order of things is playfully subverted.

At another level, the boy in the book plays with the toy bus, echoing the movements of a real bus, but bending them into mischievous territory. This layer reminds us how children learn through imitation, copying what they see in the world around them, and then twisting it through imagination. And then there is the narrative voice, which slips between perspectives. Sometimes it feels like the boy speaking, sometimes the bus itself. This ambiguity mirrors the way children move fluidly between roles in play, becoming both narrator and character at once.

This mix of minimal text, inventive visuals, and playful storytelling makes The Naughty Bus more than just a funny book about a toy gone wild. It’s a story that encourages children to think about how books work, how toys can tell stories, and how imagination can transform the everyday.

How parents can use this book at home
Parents and carers will find this book ripe with opportunities for playful reading. The clipped, rhythmic language invites children to join in, so encourage them to shout out “Stop!” or “Go!” as you read. Draw attention to the unusual photographs, ask your child where they think the bus will go next, or whether their own toys might do the same. After reading, children might want to take their own toy vehicles on adventures around the house or garden, just like the boy in the story.

You could even extend the book into small creative projects: setting up scenes with toys and photographing them, re-enacting the bus’s journey at the dinner table (hopefully without baked beans!), or making up new “naughty” adventures together. In this way, the book doesn’t just stay on the shelf. It becomes a springboard for imaginative, open-ended play.