Book Week Picture Book Shortlist: We Live in a Bus by Dave Petzold

Often the picture books chosen for the shortlist are for an older audience than the students I teach, but this year that is not the case and many of them could be shared with them. We Live in a Bus  certainly could be. This is the story of a family on a trip around Australia who travel by converted bus rather than camper van or caravan. Of course this has been done before, but that doesn't distract from this book. It is fun and offers a different perspective.

Australia already has two very iconic picture books about travelling around Australia, Possum Magic  and Are We There Yet? and I think Dirt by Sea deserves to be added to this list.

• Dirt by Sea by Michael Wagner and Tom Jellett

Explore our wonderful coastline and the joy of a family road-trip with Dad and Daisy! Along the way, they will discover all about Australia and much, much more. Daisy lives in inland Australia with her dad and her grandparents, loving the red dirt land around her. But when her dad realises she's never seen the beach, they set off on a trip you won't want to miss.

The themes highlighted by We Live in a Bus are easy to highlight in a book display and many of these books would make ideal companion texts (see the four below). Collect together books about things you would see travelling Australia, books about camping and caravan parks, books about travelling with family for an extended time. 

• We Live in a Caravan  by Jess Tsigros and Holly Milner

This book follows a family travelling around Australia in their caravan, visiting each state and territory along the way. They meet many different people, spot wildlife, reconnect with nature and enjoy time as a family on the road. 

• An Amazing Australian Roadtrip  by Jackie Hosking and Lesley Vamod

A family visits every state and territory of Australia, looking for the perfect picnic spot and experiencing all the landscapes, climates and wonders that Australia has to offer along the way.

• Our Home on Wheels  by Jessica and Stephen Parry-Valentine and Ashlee Spink

Mum and Dad told me they've got a wild plan . . . We're exploring Australia in a snug little van. Ride along with Hunter as she discovers beaches and billabongs, paddocks and plains, forests and dugouts, and even underwater worlds. A big adventure awaits!

• Highway by Nadia Wheatley and Andrew McLean

Dad's a truckie and he, Mum and the kids are going on a very different holiday: a trip down the highway on an overnight run. They're even taking their swimmers and towels! This book captures all the wonder of a child's journey of discovery, and at the same time touches on a range of environmental issues. 

Then collect these to display:

This Our Australia  series by Phil Kettle has twelve books, each about a place in Australia and they provide just the right amount of information about places travelled to.

Book an Adventure (Part 3 - where the book takes you on an adventure to other places)

Many of the themes chosen for Book Week have leant themselves to travelling to other places...One World Many Stories; Escape to Everywhere; Sail Away With Books, and I have had fun taking students to other countries adventuring. I have used passports, wide reading contracts where the students had to read  books from different countries or continents and focused on places the students may or may not have been. These places make for good adventures.

Some books are very helpful as they do the travelling for you, visiting a whole lot of different places all in one book. These books do that:

• The Best Book in the World  by Rilla Alexander

If you found the best book in the world, would you stop reading? Could you stop reading? If you had homework to do, or dinner to get through, could you put the book down? On a train to the zoo or on a flight to Kalamazoo, would that break the spell? If in a forest you walked, while scary monsters stalked . . . would that be enough? If you'd crossed a desert that baked or were swept off by a river that snaked, would you even take a break?

• Jeremy's Tail  by Duncan Ball

Jeremy is at a birthday party and it is his turn to 'pin the tail on the donkey'. His attempts to locate the donkey take him all the way around the world before successfully returning and pinning the tail accurately.

• Emma Jane's Aeroplane  by Katie Haworth

Emma Jane zooms off in her aeroplane around the cities of the world. Along the way she makes a crew of animal friends who save the day when the little plane gets into trouble...

• A Ticket Around the World  by Natalia Diaz 

Join a young boy as he hops around the globe, visiting friends in 13 different countries spanning all 6 populated continents. Along the way, each friend introduces us to their country's environment and customs, and shares interesting facts about their country's culture, language, food, geography, wildlife, landmarks and more. 

• Papa Brings Me the World  by Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw 

Most parents drive a car or ride a bus or train to work-but not Lulu's papa. He navigates mountains, deserts, and oceans, each time returning home with pockets full of treasures. There's an ancient calculator from China, a musical mbira from Zimbabwe, and special games from Sumatra. But the best treasures are special stories Papa tells when he comes home-tales of playing peek a boo with rare birds in the Andes and riding dragons in the Irish Sea. 

• Walk This World  by Lotta Neiminen

Travel to a new country with every turn of the page, each with new surprises to discover: peep through windows, open doors and delve underground by opening the many lift-flaps designed into every spread.

• One World Many Colours by Ben Lerwill

A lyrical celebration of the vibrant colours waiting to be found in all corners of the world. From the ice-white plains of Antarctica to the soft pink blossoms of the Japanese countryside. 

• My Big World  by Maggie Li

Follow Koko and Alex as they ask questions about the world while intrepid explorers go on adventures to find out how and where we live. Starting from inside the home, Koko and Alex move on to explore the wider world. Step by step the reader encounters different plants and animals, exploring various locations around the world and even visiting outer space! 

• Our World Full of Wonders  by Javita Nilsen

Our world is full of amazing natural wonders. From sparkling seas and towering trees, to valleys, lakes and waterfalls, there are extraordinary places that seem too magical to be true but can be found right here on planet Earth.

•  Atlas of Adventures  by Lucy Letherland

Set your spirit of adventure free with this lavishly illustrated trip around the world. Whether you're visiting the penguins of Antarctica, joining the Carnival in Brazil or a canoe safari down the Zambezi River, this book brings together more than 100 activities and challenges to inspire armchair adventurers of any age. Find hundreds of things to spot and learn new facts about every destination. 

• Wild World  by Angela McAllister

Discover thirteen incredible habitats, from the crystal kingdom Arctic to the dusty savannah and the black-as-space deep sea, in this beautiful tribute to the last wildernesses of our world.

And this book is long out of print, but your library might have it. Ours does.

• Around the World  by Lindsay Barrett George

Here the teacher goes on the adventure. What would you hear and see if you travelled to every corner of of the world in search of wildlife in all its forms? Here is your answer and your passport to adventure. Follow Miss Lewis as she circumnavigates the globe aboard the ship 'Explorer' and reports her experiences in photographs, sketches and letters sent back to her students at home.