The Caboose Who Got Loose

by Bill Peet, Josefina Bosch (Narrator), Michael Moss (Music)

Katy caboose doesn’t like her life at the back of the train. Stuck with clouds of billowing smoke from the engine and a bumpy, jolting ride, she longs for some peace and quiet. When her rusty bolts bust loose, Katy finally gets the life she wants in a way she never expected!
This Read-Along Book and CD Favorite includes a paperback edition of the book and a compact disc in a newly designed reusable package. Perfect for car trips, classrooms, and bedtime listening, these recordings feature lively sound effects and original music. The CD includes one reading with page-turn signals as well as an uninterrupted reading.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Trains, Transport, Kids, Fantasy

48 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Bill Peet was an American children's book illustrator and a story writer for Disney Studios. He joined Disney in 1937 and worked on The Jungle Book, Song of the South, Cinderella, One Hundred and One Dalmatians, The Sword in the Stone, Goliath II, Sleeping Beauty, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, Dumbo, Pinocchio, Fantasia, The Three Caballeros, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and other stories.

After successes developing short stories for Disney, Peet had his first book published, Hubert's Hair Raising Adventure.

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 4 out of 5]

Katy Caboose dreams of being free of the smoky, jerky train. She longs to be like the log cabin in the woods at peace. She tires of the dirty train yards. She gets scared in the mountains with the ledges and long tunnels. It makes her shiver and shake.

There is an office high in the train yard that hates his life and would do anything to switch places with Katy. This changes her perspective and she tries to enjoy her life more. Then one day, on a mountain, the engine gives a jerk and Katy's bolt pops free and Katy is finally free. She races down the mountain and off a curve.

I like the ending and where Katy ends up. Bill Peet can craft a story. Trains used to be huge, but I think they are less so and less so, so there aren't as many children into trains as there once was.

The nephew again was like, why are we reading about a caboose? I have a whole stack of books from the library and they really aren't his genre. I need to work on this. He gave this book 2 stars and said the ending was sort of fun. He loved seeing the caboose soaring through the air and he thought the ending was sort of funny.

[Mark Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Katy is a caboose, but she doesn’t like traveling at all. She longs for peace and quiet and a stationary life. Then she is presented with the joys of her current life. Will she realize her dream? Will she enjoy life until then?

I hadn’t read this picture book for years until I picked it up recently, and I was immediately struck by the moral of the story. It’s complex, about enjoying your life while you dream of something else, so kids might not fully grasp it, but that doesn’t make it any less good. Of course, kids are mostly going to be interested in the story and pictures. As with all Bill Peet’s books, the pictures are detailed and colorful. The story, told in rhyme, will keep kids’ attention as well although the vocabulary might be a bit too complex for those just learning to read to read on their own.

Read my full review at Carstairs Considers.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember seeing Bill Peet books around when I was a kid, but truth be told…I was not a fan. As an adult, I find his stories and art quite charming though. Go figure. :)

Smooth, fun rhyming lines pair up with his beautifully textured illustrations to tell a story that all ages can enjoy and take to heart. The Caboose Who Got Loose is one that really spoke to me. A sweet story about finding your way and place in life. Your peace. Don’t wait or chug along. Make a change. Break free!

Mr. Peet’s artistic style is a joy to see. It’s like he drew the pictures right there, right then just for me in my book. My hands moved over the billows of smoke and tree tops in search of grooves on the page. The images look so alive! Every page has texture and movement in the lines. I keep going back to get lost in the pictures.

Off to find more classic Peet!

[Ronyell · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The Caboose Who Got Loose” is a great story from the creative mind of Bill Peet about a small caboose named Katy who wants to escape her life as a caboose and live happily in a peaceful place. “The Caboose Who Got Loose” may be a bit tedious for some children, but it is still a cute little story nonetheless.

Bill Peet’s story about a caboose who wants to live a peaceful life in the countryside is a great tale for many children. Children will feel for Katy’s sadness at being a mere caboose and not having a peaceful life of her own. Bill Peet’s writing is highly creative as he narrates the story in a rhyming prose that fits the mood of the story perfectly. Bill Peet’s illustrations are always the highlights in his books and this is certainly no exception. The characters are drawn in a similar fashion as “The Brave Little Toaster” as the cabooses and the houses have windows for eyes.



“The Caboose Who Got Loose” is a cute story about how one must be satisfied with what life brings us and will definitely interest many children who love books about trains and how to love life. I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since there is nothing inappropriate about the story.

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

[booklady · Rating 4 out of 5]

My oldest daughter loved trains when she was little; one of her first words was 'choo choo'. She received this book from her paternal grandparents as a Christmas gift when she was three and I read it to her so many times she had it memorized. I'm not saying it's for everyone or that it's great literature, but if you have any die-hard train fans out there--especially if they are little girls--this might be the book for them. It's about a little caboose named Katy and she has a hankering to be free of her train. Why she feels this way and how this dilemma is resolved are the crux of the story.

The story is told in verse form and illustrated throughout with bright colorful pencil drawings. The trains and other objects are animated (along the lines of Thomas the tank engine) adding to the books appeal.

My daughter still keeps this book on her bookshelf; she's almost seventeen.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the last few of the Bill Peet stories in our public library and so it is with a somewhat heavy heart that I will be leaving his interesting reads. Although reading about a caboose isn't what my last reading pleasure would have been about I am quite glad to say that Katy Caboose most definitely changed my mind about herself and gave me a happy joy to know that this story is within the reach of young hands.

First of all this is one of the few rhyming books that Peet did. It is always interesting to see how he rhymes his words but always after he puts a whole sentence to work to pass on the story to the reader. Peet is a master when it comes to rhyming and sometimes I wish that he had used that medium a lot more in his storytelling attempts.

At the same time he has gone out of his way to make a book that doesn't include any of his normal animal characters with their humanly expressive faces as are so many of his primary characters. Instead just as in the case of "Jennifer and Josephine", Peet does a wonderful job in working with the structures that he is given so not only is Katy and the engine given human-like faces but also the other buildings that Katy dreams of being with.

And finally this is one book that I truly enjoyed the message with. Although it pushes on the same old message of being content with who you are and knowing that someone else is always wanting to have your position in life, the story also searches the message of how unexpected opportunities can be grabbed and dreams achieved when you are least expecting them. True things may not appear the way as you wish them but your happiness still has been reached.

This would make for a good story to share with children in your life who enjoy trains no matter the fact that Katy is female. Furthermore this could also be one of those rare graduation books to share with young go-getters starting off on their own dream-finding journeys.

[Missy LeBlanc Ivey · Rating 3 out of 5]

2023 - 1970’s Immersion Reading Challenge

The Caboose Who Got Loose by Bill Peet (1971) 48 pages.

AR POINTS: 0.5 READING LEVEL 4.9

A fairly cute rhyming story! For the sake of progress and your comfortable lifestyle, we’ve got trains, and we need trains. Bill Peet shows kids here in this book how miserable it can be living in a cloud of pollution, even for a caboose…and yes, it sure can be. But, is it better to live alone in a tree where the caboose crashed and landed never to be heard from again? I’m not sure about this ending.

I don’t know. I’m trying to read this without knowing that today, in 2023, they are using climate change as a political scam to get control of the world, pushing us into a one world government. Back in 1971, I probably would have thought this was a cute little book. Today? I might call it brainwashing.

Don’t get me wrong. I do believe we would all benefit from living a more mindful and less wasteful lifestyle. It really is just the hypocrisy between the government’s lifestyle and the one they are beginning to force on us. I believe it’s affecting my enjoyment of reading Bill Peet’s books.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

We discovered Bill Peet's books about 6 months ago and have been steadily borrowing his books from our local library since. We've really liked the different stories and want to read more of his stories.

This is a long, but entertaining story about an anthropomorphic caboose who wishes to settle down and rest. The rhyming narrative is dramatic, made even more so by the music and sound effects as well as by Josefina Bosch who reads this book on the accompanying CD we got with the book as part of a kit from our library. The illustrations are very nicely detailed and are of the quality we've come to expect from Mr. Peet, one of Disney's greatest storytellers. As an aside, the CD that comes with the book also has a bonus track of the story The Whingdingdilly.

I'm not sure if there's a moral to this tale, but it's fairly entertaining. We enjoyed listening to this story narrated on the CD while we followed along with the book. I think that preschoolers might become bored with this story, so I'd recommend it for elementary school-age children. I think those who grew up with "Thomas the Tank Engine" (and who have grown out of it) and children who really like trains will like this tale best.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been fascinated by Bill Peet ever since I read his autobiography for the Caldecott Challenge. I knew he wrote some children’s books, but had no idea that he did so many (34 total). His work reminded me a lot of Dr Seuss, with the crazy rhymes for the book. I guess you have to get pretty creative when working with the word “caboose”. He worked for Walt Disney and you can definitely see the influence in the way he draws houses and even Katy Caboose, from his work on the animated shorts “Susie the Little Blue Coupe” and “The Little House”. I loved the rhyming storyline and it had great illustrations. As this was a train-related book, my son kept wanting me to read it over and over again to him.

Katy spends her day at the end of a very long freight train and longs to be free and surrounded by nature. It is only after she is near a switchman’s house that wants to be her because her life looks so glamorous that she gains appreciation for herself. Her wish for freedom is unexpectedly granted when the train she is hooked up to is coming up a steep curvy mountain track, and she is accidentally uncoupled. She flies off the track and is caught between two evergreen trees and the rescue team is unable to find her. And so she lives out the rest of her days in nature with a great view. Highly recommended for ages 3-8, 5 stars.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved this book as a child. It was one my grandmother kept at her house and read to me often when I visited. It was a thoroughly appealing story with a lot of action and an adventurous sense of excitement.

Now, though, I find myself feeling a touch awkward about the clear subtext that Katy's daydreaming about a different life and aspiring to get a better view that the one from the end of the train is subversive and fraught with danger. Good little cabooses would never be so foolish.

I know that sweet, charming picture books about adorable train cars are not intended to indoctrinate children into boring lives of empty headed confirmity. Indeed, I certainly never took it that way in my youth and have not stayed home nor lived my life in the conventional way. Honestly, perhaps it is just as well that the obstacles are acknowledged right alongside the aspirations; this certainly ISN'T a book which promises kids they can do anything if only they believe.

Finally, how can I argue with such an unequivocally happy ending, back to nature, living the good life, no noisy smoky trainyards in sight? Right on, Katy!

[Relyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I try to read a story to my class each morning in addition to our regular afternoon read aloud. Some days we have time. Some days we don't. This book has adorable illustrations by the author. The book feels a lot like The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton. This was a fun story and a very successful read aloud. The class loved it. I also loved it because I was able to use it for a character education lesson. We talked about attitude and how changing the way you look at a situation can sometimes make all the difference. We also used it to discuss compassion. There is always someone worse off than you. In Katie the Caboose's case, that was the little shack stuck in the city. Often, the person you think has it made has struggles of their own. In the case of this book, that would be the engine.

Having said all that, this book is just a sweet story. The kids and I pulled the lesson out of it. The book never feels cloying or preachy. Love it!

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very well loved by the two-year-old set around here. Fortunately it provides ample matter for reflection for the older reader as well. This story explores the age-old temptation to wish our lives other than they are. It includes a brief but unsuccessful resolution by the main character to be happy with her lot, after realizing she is the envy of others who have it worse than she. The fact that she doesn't succeed at this self-willed contentment is a nice touch, making it in the end more of a fantasy tale than a moralistic fable. I will not give away the ending. I have always loved Bill Peet's soft colored pencil illustrations. His rhymes can provoke groans, however, and I was particularly dismayed by the final line of this book.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a cute little book! Any child who likes trains will like it. My little man loves this book, and it's even more special because we have the copy that his daddy had as a child.

[Patty Barr · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Bill Peet books - the rhyming, the illustrations, the message. This poor caboose dreams of living a quiet life, and his wish comes true.

[Desiree · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 3 and a half year old really seemed to like the book. He was enthralled with everything but the ending. He couldn't understand why the caboose would want to stay in a pair of evergreen trees?

[Ashley Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely train book on the value of keeping a fresh perspective.

[Aiden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read at Gwen's house

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

We enjoy Bill Peet. I grew up on Randy's Dandy lions and hadn't read this. A sweet story about a caboose who longs for a more peaceful life.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

This beautifully illustrated story is of a scared and unhappy little caboose (Katy) told in rhyme. Katy hates her jolting, noisy, smoke filled existence and longs to be settled somewhere peaceful and quiet. She finds her rides behind freight trains very frightening. Until one day, she is accidentally dislodged from her train and runs off the tracks landing wedged between two spruce trees where she lives happily ever after with the squirrels and the birds.

The story is fun to read aloud because of the poetic rhythm and rhyme (the whole book is told in couplets) and I do quite like the illustrations. However, I'm slightly bothered that the strong, powerful, happy, proud steam engines are male and the scared, unhappy, powerless caboose is female. Also, Katy does not do anything to change her situation - rather her unhappy existence is made better by sheer accident.

Overall, a nice book, but not one that I'll make frequent readings off with my child.

[Fjóla · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a quaint little old book that my son dug out of the shelves at the library. Now, that he'd like a story about a little red caboose was not going to surprise me (caboose was among the first words he ever learned, and his favorite color red), but there's a lot more to this book than I was initially expecting.

First of all, Bill Peet is an author/illustrator/animator (for Disney) with an extensive output. And the colored pencil illustrations in this book are immensely satisfying and charming. But the story itself is quite memorable as well. It is somewhat dark (almost too realistic for a picture book at times), but it's very engaging. The text is pretty mature, all in rhyme, and can hold up to countable readings. I was ambivalent about the ending: while Katy may have gotten her wish, the end of the story left me sad.

[Paul Hardin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I particularly enjoy reading about trains and how different parts of trains would feel and be if they were something else. This rhyme book is no different, it is about the Caboose of a train and how she struggles in dealing with just being a caboose. She wants desperately to be the lead locomotive and lead the train through the country. One day she breaks free from the rest of the train and goes on a little adventure.
I enjoyed this book because it is about trains and also because it has a great rhyme scheme. The rhythm of the words used create a sense of being on a train and listening to the parts go by. The story creates great images of sight and sound. If you read this to a child and had them close their eyes, I bet they would be able to picture a train going up a mountain. I especially enjoy the imagination of the poem because hopefully it takes a large imagination for this to happen. This book/poem is well written.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

My kids thought this was okay a long time ago, and now my grandson likes it, too. But what a strange story. Me, I love Bill Peet's drawing style, the bright colors combined with a lurking dark side. He can personify a railroad car - or a house or a barn - with a recognizable emotion. I can relate to a caboose who hates his role in life as a follower bringing up the rear of an indifferent train, wishing to be free. I cheer for his escape. What I can't quite accept in this silly story is the outcome. I wish the caboose had found meaningful work, or a loving relationship, or a way to feel dignity in the role to which he was born. Something psychologically satisfying. Something other than that a caboose would be happy spending the rest of its days stuck high in the air between two spruce trees.
But that's how it ends.

[Jeremy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice pictures and potentially good lessons about contentment. I'm not sure that I liked the ending. Katy got to become something other than a caboose (kind of), but it just didn't seem right, teleologically. A better lesson would have been for Katy to learn how to be the best caboose that she could be.

When we were done, as Kate was walking away, she patted the book and said, "Good book. Buy it."

[Luisa Knight · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute tale with a brief lesson on not complaining.

Ages: 4 - 8

**Like my reviews? I also have hundreds of detailed reports that I offer too. These reports give a complete break-down of everything in the book, so you'll know just how clean it is or isn't. I also have Clean Guides (downloadable PDFs) which enable you to clean up your book before reading it! Visit my website: The Book Radar.

[Natasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember this book from my own childhood, so I was thrilled to find a copy with read-aloud CD at our local library. My three young children thoroughly enjoyed listening to with it, the sound effects are a nice touch, and when it ended my 4 1/2 year old son asked to start it over again from the beginning.

[Shaun Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books my mother would read to me as a child, it fostered my love of Bill Peet, Trains, and reading in general. Now I read it to my granddaughter on a pretty regular basis. It's one of her favorites, and the countless hours we've spent re-reading this beloved slice of my childhood makes us both happy.

[Sean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read...that is ok to read over and over and over again...as is proven every night so far this month.

[Isabella · Rating 5 out of 5]

This little caboose dreams of a quiet simple life, but how can a caboose who is dragged everywhere behind a long train ever be still or quiet? We loved this story about not giving up on your dreams.

[Esther May · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bill Peet is a fun author and this book did not disappoint. It was a fun book to read aloud. My boys liked the story and the rhyming words.

[Mk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it to my son!