Trains Run!

PreS-Gr 1--This installment in a transportation series by George Ella Lyon and her son Benn takes on the world of trains. The jaunty story explores how trains are powered, the sounds they make, the different types of cars they pull, and much more. As in Planes Fly, Boats Float, and Trucks Roll, the rhyming text is set in large and bold font and the placement of the wording changes from page to page, which adds visual interest. Not only are different types of trains explored, but also the people who ride them, work on them, and the different terrains they travel through. To add to the fun, the refrain "Trains run!" is repeated throughout and will certainly encourage young readers to join in. Wiggins's digitally created illustrations capture the rhythm and flow of locomotives and there is a particularly dramatic spread of a train traveling over an awe-inspiring trestle bridge as people look on. VERDICT An excellent choice for storytimes and read-alouds everywhere.--Amy Nolan, St. Joseph Public Library, MI

Adding to their growing oeuvre of transportation books, the parent/child authors again pair up with Wiggins, this time riffing on all things train. In lively rhyming text, the Lyons touch on everything from toy trains to locomotives to box cars, even including a nod to The Little Engine That Could ("Can a train climb a mountain? I think it can!"). The refrain "Trains run!" repeats throughout, lending the songlike verse an energy seamlessly matched by Wiggins's vintage-style digital art (an "iron horse/ on its course" is a blur as speeding across a golden field). And for all its forward motion, delightful additions by Wiggins (animals tucked into most spreads, enormous fruits taking up a truck bed) offer myriad amusements to linger over. This team clearly knows what they're doing--their enthusiastic celebration fully captures the magic and majesty of trains. Ages 4-8. (June)