Have you ever thought that your experiences in student transportation would make for great reading material? Tom Brandon did, and he turned that thought into a collection of short stories that reveal the important connection between school bus drivers and passengers.

Brandon, now retired, worked in education for more than 30 years, mostly at a rural school in northern Alabama. Along with driving a school bus, he was a teacher and a coach.

It was his time behind the wheel that inspired Brandon to launch a blog, where he wrote about his many amusing encounters with the students that he drove back and forth to school. Now Brandon’s observations are available in print in a book called Mr. Brandon’s School Bus: What I Heard on the Way to School (New South Books).

The book includes everything from delivering discipline – stopping a passenger from discussing the details of puberty, to the kid who shows off his new sunglasses – before the sun comes up!

Throughout the book, Brandon’s anecdotes show that being a school bus driver means much more than just driving the bus. It means taking the helm of a classroom on wheels, with the potential to help shape each passenger’s education.