When Allan’s parents surprise the train-obsessed youngster with a ride, he is thrilled to finally hear the real sounds of a train rather than his own pretend ones. During the trip he visits the bathroom at the end of his car, gets his ticket punched by the conductor, walks between the cars to get a snack, waves to the people waiting at the crossings and watches out the window. But the train ride is only part of the surprise—TrainLand awaits. Changes in the typeface’s style and color make the onomatopoeia and color names stand out from the rest of the text, allowing this to be used as a color-concept book. The cat characters, bright colors and lots of train details will keep youngsters searching the illustrations, which are done in a less-realistic style than is Rockwell’s usual. Although the ending is more than a little abrupt, train lovers will eat this one up, as will those who are preparing children for a train ride of their own. (Picture book. 3-7)
