All Aboard! the Christmas Train

September 24, 2018
Every page of this novelty fold-out book (a follow-up to All Aboard!) represents a different train car, and readers can unfold the full train to almost four feet. Die-cut windows allow a peek inside each compartment, and flaps on each car reveal the full scenes: Santa, elves, sugarplum fairies, reindeer, and more. Readers are invited to seek Santa’s missing boot and a plethora of other items; they can also read the underside of the pages, which offer more seek-and-find fun in wintry outdoor scenes just beyond the tracks. Kolb’s spirited cartoon art offers plenty of eye candy (kudos to Kolb for Santa’s brown skin), while the long and narrow, multifaceted format is great fun. Ages up to 3.

January 1, 2019
Five cars of holiday fun and snowy scenery--now if only Santa can find his boot!This delightful, non-narrative excursion unfolds--literally--in a sturdy volume that extends into a yuletide train over 4 feet long. As with Mara and Kolb's first rail outing, All Aboard! (2017), once the concertina pages are folded out, each one is a unique car on the train, with the exterior of each lifting up to reveal the goings-on within. Die-cut windows, bright colors, holiday decor, elves, toys, penguins, pies, and Santa Claus make this a visually engaging read for those Christmas celebrants among the preschooler set. As the gingerbread engineer drives the train, Santa goes searching for his missing boot, which takes him through every car on the train. Questions and activities accompany each scene: "Can you find two snowflakes that match?" "Can you find a toy that zooms? One that spins?" Reversing the extended pages, meanwhile, reveals the snow-covered countryside past which the train is chugging, with skiers to count, snowmen to spot, hills, houses, and water. With so much to see, seek, and answer, this book has a ton of interactive appeal. The cartoonish illustrations are charming and rich in detail, and they are rendered in a lush, pleasing palette with a refreshingly brown-skinned Santa as the star.Train-loving tots may fancy this Christmas ride all year long. (Board book. 2-6)

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