Community means many different things to people: to some it offers a place where individuals can pool their talents to serve the common good; to others it is a space for emotional support and encouragement; for still others it is a band of like-minded souls working to transform the world. A Bus Called Heaven, designed for children three years and up by author and illustrator Bob Graham is a spiffy story about all these aspects of community.
A broken-down bus has a hand-painted sign on it — "Heaven." The vehicle is parked outside Stella's house. She looks at it and says: "Mommy, that old bus is sad as a whale on a beach." Neighbors and others move it into Stella's yard where it is cleaned, given a new coat of paint, and transformed into a multi-purpose community center.
But then much to the shock of everyone, the bus is towed away to the junk yard. Stella proves her mettle and wins the vehicle back. This time it is towed to a vacant lot where it is cherished by all her neighbors.
Bob Graham has done a marvelous job capturing and conveying both the deep yearning people have for genuine community and the need we also have for heroes like Stella who stand up to authority and do the right thing.
