Long lost children’s book search

September 10, 2009 11:21 AM

I am looking for a young child's easy reader book from the late 1960s/early 1970s about a bear and his bus.

I am 99.999% certain the title is Bumper Bear’s Bus. It had a light blue hardcover that was kind of watercolory in tone and if I remember correctly the cover has a picture of a very cute and fuzzy brown bear and a bus. He may have been wearing a yellow smock/vest/bus driver’s jacket.

I am more than 100% without a doubt positively certain the bear’s name is Bumper (because I had such a difficult time saying BumpeR, instead of BumpeW and I remember my Mom helping me with my “R’s” to say BumpeR, so I am absolutely positively certain without one iota of doubt in my mind that the bear’s name is Bumper).

Bumper Bear drove the bus around town, and I believe the story was about the people Bumper bear picked up for rides on the bus or where they were going on the bus, or things they saw along the way – you get the idea...

Places I've already looked: I’ve asked every member of my family, people around my age (40), I’ve checked used bookstores in person, searched every book finder web site I can think of, looked on google, ebay, half, random sites – NOTHING - Not one mention anywhere, but I KNOW this book existed because I once owned a copy.

Please let my first ever askme question help me find the first book I ever read!

posted by goml to media & arts (6 comments total)

My search of LibraryThing has, unfortunately, yielded nothing. There is an excellent group there however, Name That Book, whose members may be able to help you. They've been able to nail down some pretty obscure stuff.
posted by alynnk at 11:41 AM on September 10

Can't help you with this specific book, but your description of it sounds very English, not American. (Watercolor illustrations, yellow smock) Maybe try some UK-centric book sites or publishers?
posted by Quietgal at 11:46 AM on September 10

Ta-da!
posted by mikepop at 11:47 AM on September 10

adding info: Bumper Bear by Donna Lugg Pape 1968

(to keep the question useful after the ebay page expires)
posted by mikepop at 11:58 AM on September 10

I SWEAR SWEAR SWEAR - I just looked on ebay (et al) yesterday afternoon to search once more time before I posted my question so I didn't ask needlessly and I got zip as a result. But I knew that'd happen, because that's how life goes!

But my year has been made with this find. mikepop, thank you so sincerely from the bottom of my heart.
posted by goml at 1:10 PM on September 10

Happy to help out! I didn't find it using eBay search, but rather a link to eBay buried in some Google results, so maybe eBay wasn't playing nicely for some reason.
posted by mikepop at 1:17 PM on September 10