Chugga Chugga Choo Choo

May 3, 1999
First-time author Lewis and Kirk (Breakfast at the Liberty Diner) here embrace an enduring childhood fantasy--the playroom that comes alive at night--and pare it down for very young readers. A toy engineer and his son drive a train loaded with "freight" (actually an assortment of playthings) around a labyrinth of track laid out in a sleeping boy's bedroom. Other toys--a jack-in-the-box, a Humpty Dumpty, a trio of plush raccoons--help load and unload the cargo, or greet the train as it passes by. Lewis's brief, rhyming couplets mime a locomotive's momentum in their rhythm: " 'Round the mountains, high and steep./ Through the valleys, low and deep." The onomatopoeic refrain, set in playful typography, is familiar but infectious: "Chugga-chugga/ choo-choo/ whistle blowing/ Whoooooooo! Whooooooooo!" Kirk's dramatically shaded, panoramic paintings revel in the toys' bold shapes and colors as well as in the disparate relationships of their sizes to one another and to the environment. He gives the classic subject matter an up-to-the-minute look: his compositions have the modeled, 3D look of computer-aided art, and his surfaces a high-gloss, airbrushed smoothness. Kids will be glad to climb aboard for the ride. Ages 2-5.

September 1, 1999
PreS-Gr 1 -Bold, bright colors and a catchy rhyming text, not to mention the irresistible subject matter, will make this title an instant hit with young children. From morning to night, a train makes its journey: whistle blowing, "wheels a-turning," loading and unloading its freight. Illustrations reveal a toy train traveling through a child's room, past a teddy bear, a jack-in-the-box, and a cowboy on his horse. The artwork is quite clever; as the train goes "Into tunnels, underground," it travels under the bed, and "Across the river," crossing a bridge over an aquarium. The large typeface suits the simple text, and the repetitive refrain of "whoooooooo! whoooooooo!" curves across the pictures. Perfect for reading aloud, the story also works as a bedtime selection, ending with, "To the roundhouse/you are bound./Good night, engine, /safe and sound." Children who love Donald Crews's Freight Train (Greenwillow, 1978) will find another favorite in Chugga-Chugga Choo-Choo. Robin L. Gibson, Muskingum County Library System, Zanesville, OH

Copyright 1999 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 1999
Ages 2^-5. A lot of preschoolers will love this bright picture book about a day in the life of a busy freight train. The lively rhyming text relates the day's activities from morning ("Sun's up! / Morning's here / Up and at 'em, engineer") to night. A cast of colorful toy characters load the freight for a journey to the city. Then off the train goes, through mountains and valleys, into tunnels and across bridges, until it reaches its destination, and it's time to unload: "Boxcars empty / One by one / Sun is setting / Job well done." Kirk's color-saturated pictures are a feast for the eyes, with many wonderful details for little ones to explore. The train, toys, and landscape are depicted close-up and life-size until the final double-page spread, which pulls back to an overhead perspective showing a young African American boy asleep, the floor around his bed filled with winding train tracks and the now-familiar toys and scenery. A surefire hit with budding engineers. ((Reviewed October 15, 1999))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1999, American Library Association.)