ROUNDABOUT TRAIN Whitman Tell a Tale book #2659

by Betty Ren Wright, Charles Clement (Illustrator)

Vintage children's book

Genres: Childrens

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1958

About the author

Betty Ren Wright was an award-winning author of children's fiction including The Dollhouse Murders, The Ghosts Of Mercy Manor and A Ghost in The House.

Known for her ghost stories and mysteries, Wright published 28 children's novels between 1981 and 2006, as well as picture books and short stories. Prior to pursuing her career as a full-time author in 1978, she worked as an editor of children's books.

Wright lived in Wisconsin with her husband, painter George A. Fredericksen, until her death in 2013.

Reviews

[David Sarkies · Rating 2 out of 5]

The New Kid in the Yard
17 November 2013

This is a cute little book about how easy it is to throw off the arrogant new kid on the book. Roundabout Train uses the setting of a railyard to teach us a lesson about entering a new social group, such as a school or a workplace. Basically the rail yard is full of the old regulars, namely steam trains and some old diesel trains. Then one day a brand new, state of the art, diesel train comes along, and he is so up himself that he does not see the need to say hello, or even acknowledge the existence of the other trains.

However, there is one thing that this diesel train does not know, and that is his way around, so when he is given to job to haul the longest load of carriages, he has no idea how to get out, so the oldest steam train plays a joke on him by telling him to go in the wrong direction, and as such he ends up going around the mountain. He then comes across a caboose and, in his arrogance, believes that it is another train, and demands that it move out of his way. However, like a dog chasing his tail, he sees it, runs faster to catch up with it, but it is always out of his reach.

I guess this is an object lesson for those of us who believe that we are just simply too good for those around us. It does not matter how smart or capable we are, there is always things that we cannot do and do not know, and in making it appear that we are so wonderful and excellent, there is always the chance of us landing up with egg on our face, as what happened to the brand new, state of the art, diesel train.

[Evan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another one from my kiddie/train collection. I'm not going to mark the actual date when I read this because then you'll be able to ascertain my approximate age, and a proper Southern gal just doesn't share that kind of thing.

Apart from the creepy trains with eyes, I think the thing that most fascinated me about this book was the rendering of the jutting mountain next to the town that had a tunnel cut through it and a train bridge leading to it. Looking at it now, it's conceptually absurd, since there are plenty of rail lines running parallel to and around the mountains on the valley floor. The mountain tunnel is practically unnecessary, but it's necessary for the main "trick" of the story to work. I can appreciate it as a corollary to Dr. Seuss-style surrealism that is stimulating to a child's eye.

The book does contain a lesson that most people interpret as comeuppance: the old local train uses a clever trick to deflate the arrogance of the bright shiny young newcomer who thinks he's the shit.

But there's something in the lesson I like and hone in on: the wisdom of age trumps the stupid energy of youth.

Score one for the older folk.

(kr@Ky 2016)

[Christina Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Roundabout Train is a tale of comeuppance in which a shiny new diesel train is made aware of his overblown sense of self-importance by an old “clickety-clack” steam engine. When a new diesel engine is scheduled to come to Tinytown on the morrow, the old steam engines are excited to welcome him and show him around; however, when he arrives, the diesel engine is too arrogant to value their experience. In order to teach him a lesson, the oldest steam engines sends him on a snipe hunt that teaches him humility. Clement’s use of line furnishes these anthropomorphic trains with facial features composed of mechanical details that complement and extend the text; therefore, at the end of the story, when the diesel engine has grown as an individual and matured, his transformation is not only evident in his speech and actions but also in his appearance. At the secondary level, Roundabout Train could serve as an easily accessible exemplar of dynamic characterization and the characteristics of the hero cycle explained by Peter R. Stillman in Introduction to Myth.

[Gary Gomes · Rating 5 out of 5]

First book I remember. I read it about 10000 times as a kid. I am 51 as I write this and I still remember the story. I also still love trains.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yet another lovely old book for children which has been all but forgotten over the years - how sad!

Roundabout Train is a small full-color hardcover picture book written by Betty Ren Wright. It's the story of the railway engines of Tinytown, and of an arrogant yellow diesel who comes to their town carrying a very haughty attitude. The trick that the oldest steam engine plays on the diesel is sure to make any child giggle.

The book is suitable for children of all ages. Children who love trains will particularly love it. It's rather short, the ideal length for a bedtime story.

It is, of course, hard to find these days; it has been out of print for many years. The two copies I've found are both in rather poor condition, which leads me to suspect that the binding was never particularly sturdy.

Nonetheless, it's an extremely charming book. My parents read it to me when I was very young, and the images and story stuck in my head for decades - until one day I saw it in a local used book shop (which by coincidence is located right next to some train tracks) and grabbed it for my son. He called it "Robota Train" (he was only two or three years old), and it soon became one of his very favorite books.