Review by Booklist Review
Gr. 1-3. Intricate collage illustrations add whimsy to Hubbell's rhyming text about all kinds of trains, train cars, cargoes, and railroad employees. The deceptively simple rhymes convey a great deal of information, and the fanciful collages contribute sly humor: Venetian gondoliers ride on gondola cars; a coal car belongs to the Naughty and Nice Coal Co. ; and large rats toting briefcases and newspapers hurry along with the human commuters in the New York City subway. The energetic design, with varying typefaces and layouts, reinforces the power and excitement of trains. When freights rumble, rock, and ROAR, the letters of the word roar increase in size from the first R to the last, just as the roar of a real freight becomes louder as the train approaches. Take this along on a long trip to keep children occupied, or share it at storytime; make sure to give listeners an opportunity to peruse the art for the humor hidden in the details. --Diane Foote Copyright 2005 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-This book introduces every possible kind of train through a rollicking rhyme: "Silver trains. Black trains./Speeding-down-the-track trains./Passenger trains. Freight trains./Crossing-every-state trains." The text will have readers building up steam and momentum until the very last page, when the trains and children can both rest. Unfortunately, the illustrations combine drawings, clip art, etchings, and maps, and they are too busy. Busy can be good, but with the small size of this book and its potential as a great read-aloud, the pictures are extremely distracting. On one spread, the workers are named, but the illustrations of them below the text do not line up, and small labels next to the figures indicate their jobs. It also seems as though the book were squeezed as much as possible in order to fit into 32 pages and uses every last inch of space. Stick with Michael Rex's My Freight Train (Holt, 2002) or Philemon Sturgess's I Love Trains! (HarperCollins, 2001).-Genevieve Gallagher, Murray Elementary School, Charlottesville, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Joyful rhymes provide a lively look at many types of trains. Illustrations created with clip art, etchings, original drawings, and maps explode with visual puns. Venetian gondoliers and courting couples appear in one set of gondola cars; another set, labeled ""Crack of Dawn Employment Agency,"" houses a group of roosters. Although design dominates, the merry text chugs right along. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Hubbell takes a wild ride with locomotives both past and present. Halsey and Addy's collage art is replete with original drawings and historic clip art pasted onto backgrounds of lightly painted-over maps or illustrated paper. The effect is dramatic, colorful and immersing. Their runaway punning will amuse the adult reader, too. In rhyming text, it seems Hubbell recognizes every possible type of train. There are steam engines, electric trains and zoo trains, diesel models and the sleekest of the modern. The journey begins: "Passenger trains. Firefighter trains. Crossing-every-state trains." And ends: "North and South and East and West. Trains work hard . . . And then they rest." This project's talented trio also highlights the sounds trains make: roaring, rumbling and huffing. They look at where trains travel: through valleys and across high bridges and underground where rats in fedoras wait for their subway line. What do trains carry? Anything, apparently, from ducks to oil. They examine employees of a train like the conductor and the porter, as well as what can be eaten in the dining car. Popcorn anyone? Two dazzling vertical spreads top off this standout train trip filled with "Tooting, hooting" fun for adults and tots alike. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
