Soothing words and steady rhythm make a solid bedtime story for young listeners who won’t look too closely.
A trip back in time on a train ride across the country.
Sometime in the first half of the 20th century (judging by the clothing and men’s hats), a coal-powered steam engine, pulling both boxcars and passenger coaches, travels overnight across the country. Romano’s rhythmic poem is filled with repeated sounds, internal rhymes, and evocative imagery. “Locomotive roars to life”; “Wheat fields sway their golden greetings.” Some lines are repeated like mini refrains: “straight and speedy,” “chug and huff,” “squeal and creak.” Debut picture-book artist Soon’s digital illustrations have a soothing retro look and color. They include some lovely twilight shading. But they don’t always quite sync with the story. The train first travels west into the sunset. It crosses hills and plains, passes rivers and farms, races stallions, passes through tunnels, and goes over a bridge into a “drowsy town” by the sea where the sun comes up—still ahead of the train. The artist has added passengers, a family of three, all pale-skinned, to the visual narrative. Father and child enjoy a late cafe-car dinner. Mother loses her hat as she looks out from the open platform on the last car. After their arrival, “Worn conductor yawns and stretches.” The yawning figure in the illustration holds a cup of steaming coffee, which he’d better put down first.
Soothing words and steady rhythm make a solid bedtime story for young listeners who won’t look too closely. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: April 16, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-62414-657-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Page Street
Review Posted Online: Jan. 14, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
An endearing tale of a jovial fellow, trying to do good by the world.
A lovable engineer gets confused and takes a train full of surprises up a mountain.
Granny Bett is feeling blue, so Railroad Hank is a-comin’ to her rescue. But what should he bring to cheer her up? Folk from all around the town give suggestions as Hank and his little red train chug past. Missy May from the Happy Flap Farm says that scrambley eggs always make her smile. Bringing Granny Bett some eggs is a fine idea. But instead of taking the eggs, Railroad Hank loads the chickens onto the train! After all, that is where the eggs come from, isn’t it? And of course, when Cinnamon Cobbler suggests giving Granny Bett a crunchy red apple, Railroad Hank takes the whole tree instead. By the time he makes it up the mountain to Granny Bett, with a string of townsfolk running behind him, his train is about to burst. But that just might be exactly what Granny Bett needs. With a large, rounded chin and kindhearted grin, Railroad Hank’s bumbling nature comes through with affection, not malice. Readers will delight in repeating Hank’s affable reply to each person that he meets: “Okey dokey.” (Impossible not be read aloud in a slow, drawn-out voice.) Plus, the inevitable train sounds will have everyone joining in.
An endearing tale of a jovial fellow, trying to do good by the world. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 25, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-375-86849-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: July 31, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A picture-book favorite despite minor flaws? That’s a 10-4, good buddy.
In McCanna and Frawley’s cheery picture-book debut, miniscule vehicles drive into supersized action.
Accompanied by a bouncy rhyme, several brightly colored trucks rumble through the garden: the lead red-and-blue truck, the more feminine purple truck and the gridlock-loathing aqua truck. Though the color palette and cartoon appearance of the nameless vehicles may seem like a carbon copy of Disney’s Cars (2006), illustrator Frawley has included humorous details for each truck, giving them life beyond their big-screen predecessors. For instance, the red-and-blue truck has jaunty eyebrows created from roof lights, the purple truck’s short bursts of steam look like daisies, and the aqua truck’s expressive eyebrows are actually wiper blades. The illustrations help tell a hilarious story, most notably of a traffic jam featuring a frog, slug and worm who are clearly not amused by the crowded garden path. McCanna similarly handles the text well. The rhythmic pattern is clear, most of the rhyme is spot-on—“Teeny tiny tires. With teeny tiny treads. / Leaving teeny tiny trails between the flower beds”—and the story begs to be read aloud to a group. Typical trucker talk is included in the dialogue—“Breaker breaker, Buddy!” “What’s your twenty, Friend?”—and the lingo is explained in a short glossary at the end of the story. Though the premise is amusing, the proportion of the trucks in relation to their surroundings can be a bit inconsistent. Most images depict the trucks, which are “smaller than a dime,” as being only marginally bigger than ants and bees, yet other images portray the trucks as being much larger—almost half as long as a box of animal crackers. Nevertheless, this delightful story will charm truck-loving children.
A picture-book favorite despite minor flaws? That’s a 10-4, good buddy.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2013
ISBN: 978-0989668811
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Bahalia Publishing
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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