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Train
A night train, a freight train, a high-speed train. Racing across the country, from coast to coast. All aboard! Climb aboard a red-striped Commuter Train in the East. Switch to a blue Passenger Train rolling through midwestern farmland. Then hop on a Freight Train, soar over mountains on an Overnight Train, and finish on a High-Speed Train as it races to the West Coast.Trains are moving. Fast and loud, colorful and powerful. Experience their sights, sounds, smells--and the engineers and conductors who make them go--as they roll across the country.
34 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 116 reviews
October 17, 2019
Picture-book author and illustrator Elisha Cooper takes readers on a cross-country journey in this lovely title, following a series of trains as they make their various journeys across their respective sections of the United States. Beginning with a Commuter Train leaving an eastern city, the narrative then switches to an inter-city Passenger Train headed for the Midwest. Next comes a Freight Train crossing the Great Plains, an Overnight Train running through the Rockies, and finally, a High Speed Train pulling into a western city...
Although not as enthusiastic of a train lover as some of the young people who come through work, I found Train engaging, appreciating the snapshot view it provides of the various kinds of trains running the rails here in the states, and the regions of the country in which these trains operate. As expected, the watercolor artwork is just lovely, capturing the beauty of the landscapes and cities through which the eponymous trains travel. Although not my personal favorite, of Cooper's books - that honor would go to his Caldecott Honor title, Big Cat, Little Cat , or to his more recent River - I did enjoy this one. Recommended to fellow fans of Cooper's artwork, and to all young children fascinated by trains.
Although not as enthusiastic of a train lover as some of the young people who come through work, I found Train engaging, appreciating the snapshot view it provides of the various kinds of trains running the rails here in the states, and the regions of the country in which these trains operate. As expected, the watercolor artwork is just lovely, capturing the beauty of the landscapes and cities through which the eponymous trains travel. Although not my personal favorite, of Cooper's books - that honor would go to his Caldecott Honor title, Big Cat, Little Cat , or to his more recent River - I did enjoy this one. Recommended to fellow fans of Cooper's artwork, and to all young children fascinated by trains.
November 11, 2013
Read for Librarian Book Group
Before the Librarian Book Group, I would have found this book very adequate. But now I'm pickier. In this book we travel across the country on different trains: commuter rail, passenger train, freight train, overnight train, and high-speed train.
My first problem was that there were recognizable details in the book (Chicago, for instance) and yet a refusal to name the towns. Also, I feel uncomfortable if I can't identify the time period and until we got to the high-speed train, it wasn't clear we were in the present. There are some solid descriptive words, but also descriptions that miss their mark. With the freight train, the train is described as "containers the color of tomatoes and eggs." Yet there are pictures of train cars that are not the colors of tomatoes and eggs. And it may just be a West Coast thing, but in my opinion the dominant color of the freight train is a very bright mustard yellow.
Also in the freight train section there are two pages about the freight train's speed. "The Freight Train rolls slower than slow." Is the train really going slowly, or is a larger point being made about the vast landscape?
This is not at all clear. If the train is traveling slowly, than why? And what's the difference between a passenger train and an overnight train? Both have passengers and both take journeys that are overnight, as anyone who has traveled from New York to Chicago knows.
I laughed out loud when we got to the high-speed train. Because while I would love for the US landscape to be crisscrossed with high-speed trains, the closest we have is the Acela from Boston to DC. And it's not really high-speed so much as a bit faster than normal train speed.
Before the Librarian Book Group, I would have found this book very adequate. But now I'm pickier. In this book we travel across the country on different trains: commuter rail, passenger train, freight train, overnight train, and high-speed train.
My first problem was that there were recognizable details in the book (Chicago, for instance) and yet a refusal to name the towns. Also, I feel uncomfortable if I can't identify the time period and until we got to the high-speed train, it wasn't clear we were in the present. There are some solid descriptive words, but also descriptions that miss their mark. With the freight train, the train is described as "containers the color of tomatoes and eggs." Yet there are pictures of train cars that are not the colors of tomatoes and eggs. And it may just be a West Coast thing, but in my opinion the dominant color of the freight train is a very bright mustard yellow.
Also in the freight train section there are two pages about the freight train's speed. "The Freight Train rolls slower than slow." Is the train really going slowly, or is a larger point being made about the vast landscape?
This is not at all clear. If the train is traveling slowly, than why? And what's the difference between a passenger train and an overnight train? Both have passengers and both take journeys that are overnight, as anyone who has traveled from New York to Chicago knows.
I laughed out loud when we got to the high-speed train. Because while I would love for the US landscape to be crisscrossed with high-speed trains, the closest we have is the Acela from Boston to DC. And it's not really high-speed so much as a bit faster than normal train speed.
February 24, 2014
I was a bit underwhelmed by this one, and I believe my son felt the same. It looked promising, in fact I really loved the cover, and it contains a lot of information about the workings/traveling of a train. But for some reason my son didn't really feel like dwelling on that, so we sort of rushed through the book for once. And, I'm not quite sure what it was about it that didn't grab us. Maybe the pictures just felt bland. They're fine, don't get me wrong (I still think the cover is amazing), just a tad cursory and lacking in "oomph". For instance, the spreads full of people, supposedly meant to imply the "busyness" of a train station hall, don't have the details that would invite a kid to pore over them and check what each person is doing, because they all kinda look the same. It's still a good train book, it just doesn't hold up at all against for instance Locomotive which we read not so long ago, where we probably spent a whole hour admiring the book and the pictures.
October 8, 2013
The soft watercolor and pencil illustrations lovingly depict various types of trains as they move from one side of the country to the other. Readers will enjoy traveling along with Commuter Trains and Passenger Trains, each with their own distinct appearance and function. As the trains head west, their passengers may see a Freight Train, an Overnight Train, and a High-Speed Train as well as some lovely scenery outside the trains' windows. While I loved the artwork and the detail lavished on the passing landscape and the dining car, I wasn't really a fan of the author's use of ellipses to lead from one page to the next. Although the device made the journey by train seem clear, it also left the sentences disjointed and my thoughts interrupted. Still, despite this criticism, I enjoyed the book. I'm certain young train lovers will love this one with all its colorful detail. Even the endpapers with their train tracks are attractive. All aboard!
December 12, 2013
My 2nd graders and I are using Train as one of our contenders in our Mock Caldecott this year. I selected it based on several different mentions on various librarian blogs. While students decided the illustrations "weren't bad," their opinion on the story wasn't nearly as positive. One student bravely used the word "boring" while the rest of the students gasped at his transparency. I think they were worried that I would be offended... which I wasn't. :) After I gave him verbal clearance to explain further, students nodded at his assessment. Their affection for another Children's book published this year, "Locomotive" ran much deeper.
August 27, 2018
It amuses me that this book takes place in the USA, considering how poor our rail infrastructure is compared to other developed nations. The pictures are beautiful and there is just the right amount of information. By the end I felt nostalgic for Europe and their fabulous trains system...particularly Germany.
September 18, 2013
Elisha Cooper's watercolor and pencil illustrations are stunning. Combine these with his sensory text and you have a masterpiece. he has captured the essence of trains, the sights, sounds and smells, perfectly.
My full review: http://bit.ly/1eMudMS
My full review: http://bit.ly/1eMudMS
August 27, 2013
Very poorly illustrated.
October 17, 2013
A surprisingly quite, almost serene, tribute to train travel. Perfect for train aficionados, young and old.
October 28, 2013
I was slightly bored, but I have a feeling that a kid who is train-crazy would probably enjoy it more.
March 27, 2014
Just not much there. Didn't feel excitement or connection. The watercolor illustrations don't stir much imagination
September 18, 2014
Notes:
not really a story, but information about trains
train changes from page to page into a more modern version
not really a story, but information about trains
train changes from page to page into a more modern version
October 6, 2023
The cover looked promising, but I was disappointed with the book itself.
The illustrations feel unfinished, more like sketches, the details are missing because of the very loose style, you don't see faces and the people are always tiny. I couldn't tell if we were in modern times or older based on pictures alone. We didn't know where we were or where we were going, there was no character or characters to follow. Honestly, I was just bored and wanted it to end.
The book tried really hard to stay in chosen, soft colours so even when it mentioned tomato and egg colors of trains, we couldn't see this in an illustration.
This book was just meh...
The illustrations feel unfinished, more like sketches, the details are missing because of the very loose style, you don't see faces and the people are always tiny. I couldn't tell if we were in modern times or older based on pictures alone. We didn't know where we were or where we were going, there was no character or characters to follow. Honestly, I was just bored and wanted it to end.
The book tried really hard to stay in chosen, soft colours so even when it mentioned tomato and egg colors of trains, we couldn't see this in an illustration.
This book was just meh...
November 19, 2021
Throughout this book, we travel across the United States with many different types of trains. The book gives details about each type of train. This book was informative and could be used when learning about transportation in the classroom. However, I do not think that I would choose this book for a read-aloud because it is kind of underwhelming. The illustrations are beautiful, but there is not much action.
December 6, 2016
I really enjoyed this book. It gave a lot of different facts about trains. It would be a great book to read if students are interested about how trains work. This book had beautiful illustrations and was filled with fun facts about trains. I would recommend this book for an upper elementary classroom.
July 30, 2017
This book differed from a lot of train books we've been reading because it's a bit more about a cross-country journey & less about a train itself (although there is still a good amount of explanation). As an adult, I really enjoyed the breakdown of different parts of a long train trip, but it would probably be better to revisit with older (>2 yrs) kids.
November 16, 2020
A modern picture book about trains and traveling cross country by train.
Great book for classroom library if you have student who likes trains. I would use it in a K-3rd grade library. It could also be used in a younger elementary lesson, such as K to 2nd grade about transportation. This would also work well as a mentor text for writing informational text for grades 3rd through 5th.
Great book for classroom library if you have student who likes trains. I would use it in a K-3rd grade library. It could also be used in a younger elementary lesson, such as K to 2nd grade about transportation. This would also work well as a mentor text for writing informational text for grades 3rd through 5th.
July 2, 2023
Five stars because I think this is Wallace's (age 3) current favorite Train read. We've read it so many times, but he and I know the words by heart and when he plays with his own trains, he uses the language of this book to animate the trains. The Elisha Cooper watercolor illustrations are soft and welcoming.
October 7, 2020
The author includes different types of trains in what amounts to a trip across the whole US. I found this really informative and clever. A fun book for a train-loving kid that a parent won't mind reading over and over again.
October 30, 2024
If you, like me, have a little boy who is entering his train era, you may like this! Gives a nice overview, in story form, of different types of trains.
Two stars as it's repeatability was not great.
Two stars as it's repeatability was not great.
May 22, 2017
Loved this story, that seamlessly transitions from talking about one type of train to another and has great illustrations to boot.
August 24, 2017
Not just a kids book, but a beautiful poem. Would work as a kid friendly coffee table book.
May 4, 2018
A beautiful book about trains - commuter, passenger, freight, overnight, high speed. Interesting.
June 24, 2019
Trains are a divisive! topic! in the community where I teach. I read with plan to add as a resource for our K-5 SS units of study. Ehhh book not much of a conversation starter
July 8, 2019
Beautiful illustrations take the reader on a cross-country journey on several different trains.
January 4, 2020
Cute picture book about different kinds of trains taking a journey across the United States from NYC to San Francisco.
January 26, 2020
I love this book. I just read it toy almost 4 year old. He loved it. It brought up great memories of train rides throughout my life. Highly recommend!
March 9, 2021
Not really a fan of the blurry art. And the words couldn't keep my 2 years old interested-and he loves trains! He enjoyed the different color trains but wouldn't let me read all the words.
September 17, 2021
Stunning watercolor illustrations showcase a variety of trains (high-speed, freight, passenger, etc).
*library book. Read at 2yo
*library book. Read at 2yo
February 5, 2023
Many types of trains. Going many places. One single journey, on one single train, might have been enough.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 116 reviews