Let's build a little train

At a railroad warehouse, an engineer studies plans for a steam engine before supervising a crew of workers, who weld pieces together to build the engine. "A boiler goes above / with a box for burning coal; / six wheels of steel below / hook to pistons by a pole." One illustration includes labels identifying several visible parts of the engine. The workers paint the new engine before adding a coal car, two cargo cars, and a caboose. An engineer takes it out for a test run, while another worker waves to train watchers from the caboose. Both crew members are depicted as women. In the informative back matter, a cutaway view of a steam engine accompanies an explanation of how it works, while an illustrated glossary defines terms such as bogie, boiler, caboose, and cattle catcher. Richardson's rhythmic, rhyming verses create a steady pace and pleasing tone that make this picture book a natural for reading aloud. O'Rourke enhances that tone in a series of varied, well-composed scenes. A well-crafted book for young train lovers.

Part story, part information, all rhyming train celebration. On a pleasant day, a brown-skinned engineer sketches a picture of a train on graph paper. The next image depicts a diverse line of seven workers (and a cat) standing proudly in overalls. Each spread, accompanied by four lines of rhyming text, describes how a train is built. Robust vocabulary (bogie, coupling) will intrigue newer train fans while tickling advanced enthusiasts. Careful word and layout choices strike a sweet spot--this book will appeal both to readers looking to learn something new and newcomers seeking a deep dive. No drama or trouble emerges in this assembly tale. Neat illustrations feature warm grays and browns along with bold reds, blues, and greens. The drawings are realistic yet sparse, allowing the emerging train engine to shine on each page. Most spreads are accompanied by large, chunky orange text--"Choo, Chugga, Chugga, Choo, Choooo!"--as if to cheer along the train itself. Instead of focusing on the engineer, driver, or anyone in particular, the production phase shows diligent teamwork. Ultimately the whole community cheers on the train's first journey down the tracks. The combination of rhymes, chugging sound effect prompts, and tender illustrations makes this a strong choice for both storytimes and one-on-one sharing. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Terrific. (("more about steam trains," photo glossary) (Picture book. 3-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.