In this fast-paced story, Niko imagines that his emotions are like passengers getting on and off a bus all day. As he takes on his role as a bus attendant and starts to seat passengers, chaos ensues when he doesn't stop and think about who he lets drive his bus.

Kids are drawn to the fun illustrations and the humorous story that shows it’s okay to experience and feel all their emotions throughout the day. But kids, like adults, need to be in control of who is driving their bus. Children and their parents have a lot to learn from this short, wonderful book that will empower them to use self-regulation skills to manage their emotions in healthy ways.

Who is driving your bus today? This minute? It’s your choice to make!

Why You Should Feature This Book

Here are just a few reasons readers will want to buy Who Is Driving Your Bus? and a great bookstore will want to stock the book:

Who Is Driving Your Bus? is a fast-paced, funny, engaging children’s book that teaches children how to easily handle their emotions every day. Children will ask to read (or be read to) the book every day.

If you loved bestselling books like A Little Spot of Anger, What Should Danny Do?, The Color Monster, Ninja Life Hacks, and In My Heart, you’ll love Who Is Driving Your Bus?

Children can connect to the bus driver principle. One child, for instance, who had difficulty regulating his frustration, was inspired by the bus driver image. He said, “I guess I need a better bus driver!”

The author can bring along plush dolls to illustrate some of the emotions kids experience every day. These dolls set the basis for interactive presentations by the author at schools, bookstores, libraries, and other events.

Parents and children are attracted to book and plush combos that encourage children to act out their feelings revealed by engaging stories.

“The book’s colorful and fun illustrations are a significant part of its appeal, capturing the energy and personality of each emotion.” — American Writing Award

Book and Author Details

Who Is Driving Your Bus?

Shannon Sonnenberg, author

Birdie Rook, illustrator

22 pages, 8.5 x 8.5 inches

ISBN: 9781645386841, paperback, $9.99

ISBN: 9781645387657, hardcover, $15.99

Publication date: June 18, 2024

Publisher: Orange Hat Publishing

Book website: https://www.orangehatpublishing.com/product-page/who-is-driving-your-bus

Publisher’s phone: 414-207-6637 or 414-212-5477

Author website: https://www.instagram.com/shannon_sonnenberg

Author email: ssonnenbe10@alumni.uwosh.edu

About the Author

Shannon Sonnenberg-Pietila is an American children's book author. She also writes collections of poetry for adults. Shannon believes that through reading and writing, we can experience every emotion and every color in the human palette.

Shannon, a master of arts, is a special education teacher for students whom she adores. She lives in Wisconsin with the people and pets she loves most in the universe: her husband Todd, son Jeff, Corgi Buddy, and their rescue cats (Mitzy, Abigail, and Kitty). She writes to help understand the world around her.

Birdie Rock, the illustrator, graduated from Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida. After graduating, she realized she missed the Wisconsin snow, so she moved back to her childhood home. She hopes to keep making art and stories for kids of all ages.

How to Order the Book

You can order Who Is Driving Your Bus? from Ingram or Orange Hat Publishing.

One must always be careful of books and what is inside them, for words have the power to change us. — Theresa Gray

Do you want to change? Just read a new book every week, and you are guaranteed to change—and to change in a great way!

Once magic and science had been fused together by the Artificers, a guild of technicians who were cast out from the empire they had fought so hard to protect. They had created wondrous machines that defied explanation.

As this forgotten technology sparks back to life, sinister figures from the dark past also resurface. With no one left with the knowledge of these fantastical machines, who will be able to stop the chaos they unleash? And who is operating them?

Slade and his young companions find themselves in the middle of a race to find answers, as members of the diabolical Withered Hand lurk through town looking for answers to ancient secrets.

The long awaited saga, Aether Sphere, begins here!

Here are just a few reasons readers will want to buy Aether Sphere: Fading Dreams and a great bookstore will want to stock the book:

If you loved The Golden Compass, Inkheart, Peter and the Starcatchers, or The Aeronaut’s Windlass, you’ll love Aether Sphere.

Gideon Hodge, aka Nikolas Baxter, has a history of supporting his books with media appearances, podcast interviews, and bookstore events.

Gideon is always seeking new spaces to distribute his stories. He enjoys engaging children and young adults as well as adults with live readings, writing workshops, and other community activities to inspire others to buy and read more books.

The author actually raced into a burning building to save the manuscript for this book. Read all about it here: https://www.insideedition.com/18805-stranger-than-fiction-man-sprints-into-burning-home-to-rescue-laptop-with-novel-on-it. And watch it, too!

“As a father and advocate for children's literacy, I strive to create stories that will engage, educate, and inspire kids to make reading a part of their regular activities.” — Gideon Hodge

Whether your interests lie in biblical monsters roaming the modern era or discovering a new world and the limits of your own potential, Gideon has wonderful tales to share with you.

“This is a book to devour! Then read it again to savor all the rich detail! I’m impatiently awaiting the next book in the series!” — Aimee Ackerman

About the Book

Aether Sphere: Fading Dreams

Nikolas Baxter, author (Gideon Hodge)

375 pages, softcover, 5 x 8 inches

ISBN: 978-1-088043530

Retail Price: $12.99 paperback

Publication date: December 2020

Publisher: Ingram Spark

Author website: https://www.gideonhodge.com

Author email: gideonhodge@gmail.com

Author phone: 504-222-8475

About the Author

Gideon Hodge, aka Nikolas Baxter, has been a writer and entertainer for most of his life. Traveling the United States in theatrical productions and film, he has enjoyed working with other creators and bringing joy to audiences. This brought him into writing for stage and screen and, ultimately, into writing novels. Gideon loves delving into the realms of myth, fairy tale, magic, and imagination.

He grew up exploring the spooky haunted houses and forests of Ohio. In college, he studied at Loyola University in New Orleans, where he got to learn about the esoteric from local practitioners, scholars, and historians. He was also active in the New Orleans theatre and film scene for a number of years, getting to work with a lot of wonderful people.

Gideon works to bring his love of history, myth, folk lore, and other strange and wonderful old stories to the page in fun and interesting ways. When not studying, writing, or performing, he loves spending time with the friends and loved ones he has met along the way.

Order Aether Sphere: Fading Dreams from Ingram.