  | Full Text Reviews: Booklist - 03/01/2019 From “Morning in the Yard” to “Sleeper Train,” the 13 poems in this fully illustrated book offer fresh takes on a variety of trains. Brown, who wrote Slickety Quick: Poems about Sharks (2016), introduces a railway snowplow, a shoulder ballast cleaner, and a whistle stop tour as well as the more familiar steam engine, underground train, and bullet train. The rhyming verses vary in length, rhythm, and tone. The last three verses of “Freight Train” comment succinctly on the train’s colorful, sculptural beauty: “Clankin’ crayon pack on wheels. / Racin’ rainbow made of steel. / Rows of grooves, cables, and bars. / Graffiti rockin’ out the cars. / A badge of rust. A proud oil stain. / There’s nothin’ plain about a train.” Reflecting the changing moods of the poems, Christoph’s expressive digital artwork includes spare, beautifully composed scenes as well as others with interesting details for kids to discover. Some of the broad, double-page illustrations suggest period settings, but most have a timeless look. A slender, handsome volume celebrating trains. - Copyright 2019 Booklist. School Library Journal - 04/01/2019 K-Gr 2—Brown has created poems that mimic and complement many different kinds of trains including freight trains, bullet trains, zoo trains, steam engines, underground trains, and more. "Shoulder Ballast Cleaner" fills the page; the words are curved and spread all over the vehicle. The sleeper train poem includes repetition to give readers the feeling of going to sleep; the repetition in "The Underground Train" emphasizes the train's underground journey and purpose. Not all of the poems rhyme, but each piece reflects the trains' characteristics with their words, use of space, and design. Illustrator Christoph has created a beautiful homage to the world of trains with bright colors and bold double-page images. The steam engine fills the page while the bullet train looks like it is speeding out of sight. A spread of train facts, cleverly written upon the train cars, completes this wild ride. VERDICT This title is a must-have for train aficionados. Highly recommended for elementary and children's collections.-Lia Carruthers, Gill St. Bernard's School - Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Loading...
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