Sparky the Dragon Bus de Sue Wickstead

Sparky the Dragon Bus

Sue Wickstead

en Limba Engleză Paperback – 29 sep 2019

Sparky is a Playbus just like Jay-Jay the Supersonic Bus and Daisy Daydream and just like Jay-Jay and Daisy, Sparky was a real Playbus too. Now she has a fictional tale of her own. The Real Sparky Sparky the Dragon Bus, JGA 199N, was a project in Glasgow offering play opportunities to disabled children and their families. It was a unique Playbus containing many special features, such as a chairlift from the lower deck, allowing users an access to the upper deck. At the rear was an emergency exit slide. The slide started from the top deck with a large, soft mat on the ground to ensure safe landing. Sparky encouraged many children to come along to the play scheme where they played alongside children of all abilities. Sparky the Dragon Bus was quickly recognised for its valuable service, and even received a royal visit from Princess Anne.

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Notă biografică

Sue Wickstead is a teacher and an author and has written children's picture books inspired by her real Playbus.All of Sue's stories have a bus included somewhere.Have you ever been on a Playbus?When Sue's two children were young, they attended a playgroup on a bus, but not an ordinary bus taking you on a journey, exciting though this is, but a Playbus stuffed full of toys to capture their imagination!For over 20 years, alongside her teaching career, Sue worked with the charity, The Bewbush Playbus Association, she painted the bus, worked in the groups, helped raise the profile of the project and its work and was part of the committee involved in raising funds to replace it with a newer vehicle. This led her to write a photographic history book about it.Sue remembers that it really was a fun journey to be involved in. The bus really got into her blood and became a work of the heart.Having written the history book Sue soon found that many children had never been on a bus before, let alone a 'Playbus' and they wanted to know more. She began telling them stories about the bus and then decided to write a fictional tale. The real number plate for the bus was JJK261 and this gave him Jay-Jay the supersonic Bus his name.'Jay-Jay the Supersonic Bus,' came out in print in 2014. It is the story behind the original project and is his journey from a scrap-yard to being changed into a playbus for children to play in. From Fact to fiction the bus journey continues.This story has now been followed more picture books about buses. Daisy Daydream is the bus Sue painted.'A Spooky Tale' and 'The Christmas Play Rehearsal' do indeed have a bus connection as well as links to Sue's teaching journey.Sue undertakes events and author bookings and loves to share her stories, she is also 'a patron of reading',