Step into the The Repair Shop in this heart-warming tale about a very special toy bus.

Elsie and her little brother, David, love watching the red buses that drive past. David longs to be able to toddle up to see them a little closer, but he has cerebral palsy and finds it difficult to stand. One day, Elsie has an idea to buy David a beautiful, big red bus to play with and encourage him take his very first steps. And now, in The Repair Shop, Elsie hopes that the team can restore the beloved bus ready for her little grandson to take part in the magic of his first steps.

A heart-warming family tale based on the real story of a very special toy bus, featured on best-loved TV show, The Repair Shop.

What a delightful book The Toy Bus is. Part of The Repair Shop stories, about the TV series of the same name, The Toy Bus tells the story of Granny Elsie bringing a toy bus into the Repair Shop to be mended by the team so that her grandsons can play with it.

The bus used to belong to her little brother David who has cerebral palsy and it helped him to walk. Now Granny Elsie wants her grandsons to have the same joy with the bus but it needs a lot of restoration.

The book is based on real events that happened at the Repair shop when a lady brought a toy bus in to be repaired that belonged to her younger brother who has cerebral palsy. It is lovely to read at the back of the book the real-life story that helped create this fictional one.

The book is quite large and is filled with beautiful, colourful illustrations that catch the eye. It is also very touching and moving and it gave me a lump in my throat reading it. If you are after a heart-warming tale to share with a young reader then this is the book to pick up.

Amy Sparkes studied English Literature and Theology at the University of Kent, and began writing after moving to Devon with her husband, six young children and an overactive imagination. Her books have appeared on CBeebies storytime and been shortlisted for several book awards, including the Roald Dahl Funny Prize and the BookTrust Best Books Awards for Do Not Enter the Monster Zoo.

She runs author events for children, writing workshops for aspiring children’s writers, produces the Writing for Children pages for bestselling Writing Magazine, and writes short stories for Aquila magazine. She co-founded the Writing Magazine Picture Book Prize for aspiring picture book authors.