All Aboard to Work--Choo-Choo!

by Carol Roth, Steve Lavis (Illustrator)

"Kiss, kiss," say the mommies. "I love you." "Hug, hug," say the daddies. "Love you, too!" It's a workday morning, and animal mommies and daddies are heading off on the train. All day they do their jobs, and in the evening, they ride the train home to their waiting children. There's dinner, books, baths, and lots of cuddling. Carol Roth's reassuring rhymes and Steve Lavis's friendly, funny animal parents show young readers that moms and dads go away - but always come back.

Genres: Picture Books, Trains, Animals, Transport, Family, Storytime, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

All Aboard to Work—Choo-Choo is a repetitive children's novel that highlights the everyday of children with working parents—specifically those who ride a train to and from work.. Every morning before all the mommies and daddies head off to work they kiss and hug their children goodbye. Then they are off to the train! Carol Roth designed this book so that each different animal rhymes with the job they have. For instance, the bear in the book is a doctor but they refer to him as the “bear who cares!” The book continues until all the different animals—mommies and daddies—are on the train and headed to work. All of the mommies and daddies work hard at their jobs and then come home and cook dinner and then get their children ready for bed and read them a book and kiss them goodnight. It is important to note that this book does not favor one gender over another which represents our current society where both men and women have jobs. It also shows moms and dads coming home and working in the kitchen and getting the kids to bed at night which I thought was a very positive thing. I think that this book would be cute to read to young children for a career week or something. It is important to talk about this with your students because it will get them thinking at a very young age about all the jobs available. Overall, the rhythmic pattern to the book made it a fun and easy read!

[The Library Lady · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some very nice touches here. There are moms and dads going to work and when the families get back together at night, you will note several apparent single parent families. The rhymes work nicely and the artwork is colorful and appealing.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

One by one, animals with different occupations board the train to get to work. This book mainly focuses on boarding the train, but also briefly shows moms and dads before work, during work, and after.

Could be useful for animal, transportation, or jobs story time.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit repetitive (reminded me of the Twelve Days of Christmas) for my tastes, but preschoolers love the repetition. A great intro to mommies and daddies going to work all day and then coming home to their families that they love (including what appears to be some single parent households). And, the parents take the train to and from work - that's just fun!

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book because they go on the train, they come back, and they do stuff, and they read a choo-choo train. Five stars because I love trains.

[Sierra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carol Roth’s book All Abroad to Work –Choo Choo is a delightful and fun action filled book with lots of sounds to imitate! I love the use of animal parents in this book and how they each have a special rhyming item that they have with them such as “a hen with a pen, a roo in blue, and a cat with his hat”. The children all know that their mommies and daddies have to go off to work in the mornings so they say their good-dyes and “I love yous” and off their parents go. The great message here is that this book mentions both mommies and daddies and is not one gender favored along with the fact that the parents always return home after work to have dinner with their children, give them baths and tuck them into bed for the night. This book comforts young children in knowing that they have parents who love them and work hard for them while they are at home or school. Great book for a kindergarten to 3rd grade classroom! Plenty of sounds that the children can make as the book continues since it has some repetition with the “All abroad to work- choo choo cug-a-chug-a-choo choo”! The bright illustrations and words placed in different places throughout the book make it a fun read-aloud!

[Bridget R. Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a story of animal commuters. They take the train to work everyday.

What I thought: Great rhyming, repetition, and onomatopoeia. This would be a fun book to use for story time. It will definitely be a hit with my Thomas fans.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I have a little problem with the rhythm, this is a fun one for my choo-choo loving 20 m/o. Lots of rhyming words, animals, professions and a fun refrain make it a keeper.

[Becca · Rating 3 out of 5]

All the animals are boarding the train to go to work - this book has a lot of rhyming and repetition.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book has a lot of rhythm and rhyme.