NICCOLINI'S SONG

Clouds form fanciful shapes in the star-sprinkled sky as the locomotives settle down for the night. Niccolini, the night watchman, protects them as they rest. He's a superb listener and he discovers that he can hear the voices of the trains, "Would you sing to me?" asks a locomotive. And so he does—to more and more trains. A mother passing by with a restless babe in arms discovers the magic of Niccolini's voice and soon his rail-yard lullabies become something of a legend in the small city. One night there comes a raging wind storm that rattles and clatters until no one can sleep. That night the grateful trains return the favor and calm the sleepless inhabitants. Niccolini becomes a conductor, of sorts. Buehner's evocative paintings illuminate the locomotives that are recumbent in the deep azure of night, all shadows and moonlight. Recalling the gentle, slightly melancholy ballad of yore, this bedtime story will soothe and captivate both young and old. (Picture book. 3-6)