FREIGHT TRAIN TRIP!

A laden freight train makes its westbound run, only narrowly missing a collision with an eastbound commuter train. The oversized trim allows for a nice extension of the train and accommodates up to two flaps per spread. These flaps are flimsy things and likely will not last more than a few readings. That’s OK, as the labored verse (“The engine rushes down the track, / with ninety-seven cars in back. / They are full of lumber; toys, and more, / and headed for the western shore”) will drive adult readers round the bend. The excitement of the near-collision is blunted, first by a flap that reveals the successful rail-switching before the text does and then by a concluding, “it’s been fun!” summation. Get another copy of Donald Crews’s Freight Train and give this a miss. (Ages 18 mos.-3)