What really happened on Casey Jones’ legendary last run? Lured by a mysterious red-haired stranger who boasts a fabulous set of golden pipes (which comprise the train’s whistle), Casey places a bet that the Cannonball can build up enough steam to make those pipes sing. Sim Webb, Casey’s fireman and friend, suspects that these pipes were stolen from the angel Gabriel by the devil himself. Will their sounding trigger the end of the world? Other-worldly splashes of radiant gold highlight illustrations that picture Sim’s youthful fascination with the railroad, his rise to fireman, the brilliantly lit interior of the engine, and finally the headlights of the Cannonball as it wends its fateful way through the mountains on its final journey. Children will relish this little-known piece of railroad lore, with its echoes of an epic battle being waged, and won. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-8037-1929-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Police Officers ($12.95; Apr.; 32 pp.; 1-55074-502-6): The duties of police officers are outlined in this entry in the In My Neighborhood series. Readers follow friendly officers as they respond to calls, crack open a bicycle theft case, and put the crooks into the system. The booking and legal process is briefly explained, as are other duties (e.g., crowd control), and different types of officers, from undercover cops to FBI agents. The book closes with a smart set of safety tips, making this not just for children interested in police work, but for adults who want to keep children alert and cautious. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 1999
ISBN: 1-55074-502-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999
Handsomely illustrated with cut-paper art by Wisniewski (The Secret Knowledge of Grown-Ups, 1998, etc.), this homage to tools from Clements (Frindle, 1996, etc.) conveys a sense of their beauty and mystery. The making of an old-fashioned carousel is the never-mentioned, ever-present event as a baker’s dozen of tools—ruler, saw, grinder, screwdriver, wrench, etc.—and the toolbox are introduced in a few lines each, one to each spread. The clipped text evokes not just the attributes of the tool—that the wrench wrestles with its work, that the axe finds the board that hides in the log—but a hint, if fanciful, of their character: drills are patient, rulers know, knives are edgy, the toolbox remembers. The text is occasionally staccato (“Toolbox carries tools home. Workshop is home”) but mostly has a good poetic pulse. The illustrations are pure entertainment, slowly revealing that the workmen and apprentice are using their fine old tools to put together a turn-of-the-century carousel. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: April 19, 1999
ISBN: 0-395-85579-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999
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