When I worked as a librarian, one of the most frequent requests was for books about vehicles. Boys, girls, parents, teachers - they all asked for books about things that go. As far as we were concerned, there were never enough books to satisfy the need. And now that I have a little boy (who we call Albert here) in my life, I know that still holds true. On every trip to the library, we are always scanning the shelves for more books about his biggest loves - vehicles. This is why one of his favorite books currently is Mighty Dads. And Albert wants both story and information at the same time, so he can learn more facts while we read. There are very few books which combine story and fact to his liking, I am so lucky to count the author of Alphabet Trains as a friend, and even luckier that she created this second book in the series (I reviewed Alphabet Trucks here, another Albert fave.).
Alphabet Trains follows the same general pattern as Alphabet Trucks did. There is an introductory verse on the first page. It serves to set up excitement for readers. They are invited on this train trip. As the train in the illustration pulls away, a crowd surrounds the train, waving joyfully. I'll take a quick moment here to note that unlike most of my reviews, where I write about text and illustrations separately, with Alphabet Trains I'll mostly talk about both pieces together. That is because text and illustration complement each other so seamlessly here. I am really not sure I could talk about each individually! So as the train leaves, and everyone waves, we see that the first car of the train is filled with letters, Here is our first glimpse of the alphabet train.
Each subsequent page includes two rhyming lines about a type of train along with an accompanying illustration. As he did in Alphabet Trucks, O'Rourke adds the featured letter into its illustration with ingenuity. In the letter A (for Auto train), the giant racks where passengers load their cars are A's themselves. On the Pacific Surfliner page, each of the waiting passengers sport a P on their t-shirts. The text for the letter U is "U is for unit train - one freight to one location.". And, indeed, the picture shows that the freight on this particular train is all capital U's in a row. Clever!
It really does seem like a daunting task to come up with twenty-six different types of trains, but Vamos completes the task with grace. And these trains aren't all passenger trains either. There isn't an Amtrak or the B&O Railroad, familiar to us from the Monopoly game, listed here. Instead, types span from the Q subway train (familiar to me from my review of Lost in NYC) to the Hurricane Train in Alaska. There are bullet trains, top-and-tail trains, and dinky trains. For young train enthusiasts, this book is a winner - it gives them twenty-six new trains to learn about as well as a catchy way to categorize them all.
There are a couple of new additions to the series in Alphabet Trains that I wanted to mention here. Alphabet Trains includes international trains as well, which is a great choice. Trains are trains the world around, but it is how those trains are used in various countries that is so interesting. For example, the Victoria Express - it travels between Hanoi and Lao Cai, and includes air-conditioned sleeping cars. These are so necessary in a tropical environment! There's also the Leonardo Express, in Rome. It simply moves passengers from the airport to the Central train station, but does it efficiently in thirty minutes. And finally the Glacier Express (which I have to admit, I believed was here in Montana, in Glacier National Park). It's actually in Switzerland, and moves at a glacial speed, taking advantage of all the incredible scenery. Including trains from around the world helps keep the audience for Alphabet Trains entranced.
And I wouldn't know all these facts about these trains if it wasn't for an addition to the book that I love most of all - back matter. There are two pages packed with facts about each of the trains at the end of the book. These facts are so useful. With only two lines of text per train, there isn't much room to identify the train. The back matter will also appeal to those train enthusiasts who want to know more. Again, when Albert and I read Alphabet Trains together, it helped us learn more information. There is no way I would have known all the facts he wanted without those pages. On the Hurricane train in Alaska, riders must wave a flag to get the train to stop for them. And they also have to inform the conductor what milepost they want to get off at. They are equal participants in their train trip!
With so many great changes, though, I am happy to report that some of the things I loved best about Alphabet Trucks is still alive and well in Alphabet Trains. I've already mentioned how well integrated the text and illustrations are in this title. But I'd also like to point out what a strong literacy impact these books have. I mentioned that O'Rourke incorporates the featured letter wherever he can. But he also uses the letters in different typefaces, both print and cursive, and in capital and small letters. It is fun to stop and admire each page, noting all the ways that letter has been used or displayed while still depicting the train accurately.
I cannot say enough how great I think these books are. And while I've focused mostly on younger reader here, this title could be used as an informational book up to fifth grade. IT can help springboard students into additional reading. We love Alphabet Trains! I've heard a rumor that there may be a third book in the alphabet vehicle series... we'll be first in line!
Alphabet Trains. Samantha R. Vamos; illustrated by Ryan O'Rourke. Charlesbridge, 2015.
sent by the publisher for review
I recently found an old email recommending several good picture books from 2007. While I was familiar with the authors of all three books, I wasn't familiar with the books themselves, so I interlibrary-loaned them. The one that I loved the most of this set was Old Penn Station by William Low. Perhaps it struck a chord because of its format - it is definitely a nonfiction picture book. Nonfiction picture books are more important to me these days because of my current work as a Cybils panelist. But whatever the reason. I want to share it with you.
Low includes an author's note at the beginning of the book, explaining why he was so interested in Old Penn Station. He began to create the paintings for this book as part of a thesis project. Low had always loved New York City and its history, and Old Penn Station is evocative of both of these.
Low takes the history of this station and distills it into sentences that are easily accessible for even kindergarten students. There are only one or two sentences per page, but they give you the feel of the station as it was built, and, eventually, torn down. For those of you who may not be familiar with it (like me), the Pennsylvania Railroad Company created the original Penn Station to have a station presence in New York. It was designed to make a grand statement, and no expense was spared in its creation. Eventually, however, as commuting changed, people were not using trains and the gorgeous Penn Station was torn down. It was replaced by the current underground station.
Low used oil paintings to depict the station in all its facets. One of the things that Low mentions about his own work on his website and in a video located on the website about the making of this book) is his love of light. He looks for places to include light sources, and in this book the use of light is amazing. Light and shadows are everywhere - making you realize how truly beautiful the old station was. The most jaw-dropping picture to me is the title page painting. Workers pose in front of a stone sculpture at the station, and half the painting (and half the group) is in shadow, the other half bathed in warm light. It's almost as if a drop cloth is being pulled off a sculpture or painting, exposing it to the light. It is a magical effect.
One of the themes Low emphasizes in this book is work and the pride workers took in what they had created. There were many, many people who toiled to create this station. There were tunnel workers who burrowed under the Hudson River, stone masons who carved sculptures and hundreds of construction workers involved. Once the station was built, there were still many workers involved in a traveler's experience within Penn Station. Low highlights these workers as well - the shoeshine man, the porter, the wait staff, the conductors. The expressions on their faces show their pride, their dedication to their work. You can see how much they love working in the station. It is not only a history of the station, but also a history of work as many of these jobs are no longer as prevalent.
Another thing Low does in this book is make the concept of historical preservation understandable for very young readers. We see many of the stone sculptures that stone masons carved throughout the book. But Low focuses on one of the stone maidens throughout the destruction of Penn Station. As the text describes the Pennsylvania Railroad Company's belief that the old Penn Station needed to be torn down in order to modernize it, you see the stone maiden over and over again. Readers admire her luminosity and grace in the beginning of the book, along with admiration for the hard work of the stone mason. Then as the stone maiden is hauled away to rest unceremoniously in a dump, readers become aware of the loss and sadness in this process. You feel palpable sorrow as the maiden is hoisted off the building. Low talks in his video about his anger at the destruction, but there is also grief in the paintings. Low goes on to describe the founding of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission and its importance in protecting the rest of the city's historical landmarks. I think this is a perfect place for teachers to draw connections between New York City and their own towns, It is so important to preserve history and to make children aware of what history can teach us.
Low includes a bibliography at the end of this history, so teachers can extrapolate more information to use with their students. Unfortunately, it seems that the majority of these sources are adult books, but there are always ways to use the photos and other primary sources.
This book has come from Low's heart, and it is especially rich for all of his emotion about Penn Station. I hope you will take time to admire this glorious book and honor this part of New York City's history.
Old Penn Station. William Low. Henry Holt & Co., 2007.
borrowed on interlibrary loan
