Snakes on a Train

August 16, 2019

PreS-K-Debut author Dennis parodies the suspense film Snakes on a Plane in title only. The adorable snakes on this train are anything but stealthy and terrifying. Flat, wormlike snakes with googly eyes embody bold colors on a white background. Geometric shapes abound in every object and lend an overall impression of sturdiness. Anxious eyes comically peer through a black window as the train passes through a tunnel. Rhyming couplets incorporate a broad but appropriate vocabulary: conductor, switcher, flagger, brakesnake. Kids will enjoy echoing the refrain: "Hissssssssssssssss goes the sound of the train." The minimalist layout makes this a good choice for very young readers. Deceptively simple, this book covers a lot of ground. A light and breezy read-aloud introduces shapes, onomatopoeia, rhyming, repetition, sequencing, movement, and direction. VERDICT A cute, concise, and versatile choice for all toddler and early preschool collections.-Richelle Rose, Kenton County Public Library, KY

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2018
Preschool-K The title of this delightful panoply of sounds, shapes, and train-riding snakes riffs on the comically horrifying movie Snakes on a Plane, but happily this book is just comic?and sneakily educational. The colorful, Richard Scarry-like snakes have perfectly round eyes in oval heads on top of rectangular or zigzag bodies. They slither into seats on a boxy red train, which pulls out of the station with a satisfying hissss. Train-crazy kids will get a kick out of seeing serpents guide the train's journey, from the switcher snake that gets the locomotive on the right track to the brakesnake that brings things to a necessary halt. The snakes, seen in profile on the train, are adorable as they play cards, read books, and stick their pink tongues out to lick ice-cream cones. At book's end, the train rests with a sssh for the night, the snakes curl up and sleep, and the stars form a lovely S. The one-dimensional illustrations look like cutouts and showcase shapes throughout. Silly, sibilant, and smart.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)