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
In the past few weeks, I've been thinking a lot about dads. It's only natural at this time of year, after all, since Father's Day was just a few weeks ago. But I'm also getting ready to blog about The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher later this week, and that's a really great book about dads. I've known that I wanted to blog about this picture book, Mighty Dads, for awhile, and I was lucky enough that Scholastic was willing to give me a copy to review.
Mighty Dads is illustrated by James Dean, of Pete the Cat fame, which made this book a favorite with Frances and Gloria. But I knew that this book would be a perfect match for a father/son pair who are very dear to me. Since the son is making his blog debut here, he'll need an alias, just like the girls have. The post where I talk about why I chose their aliases is here, and many of the reasons I chose those names are still true today, more than three years later. And if you know Russell Hoban' books, you will know that Frances has a best friend named Albert. Perfect for our young friend, who I will now refer to as Albert. My Albert turns four in two weeks. He is full of imagination and chatter, and is blessedly flexible about playing with any and all of the girls' toys. He is also a big library fan, and whenever we go, Albert requests books about diggers, cranes, dump trucks, and construction sites. Albert is sweet, loving, funny and all boy in his fascination with construction equipment. Frances and Gloria never cared very much about those sorts of vehicles, so it's fun to learn new facts about them as Albert does.
Each construction vehicle father in this story takes their child to work with them. On each two page spread, the father teaches the child how to do the job they'll share. "Bulldozer Strong shows Dozy right from wrong. They go roar, roar, roar!" The simple text (just two sentences per spread) is rhythmic and easy to predict. Listeners will enjoy chiming in with the sound that vehicle makes. I can imagine a storytime getting progressively louder with each repetition. It might also be fun to make the story more physical, acting out the various jobs. The cranes reach, the cement mixer and his child go spin, spin, pour. There are all sorts of applications for this story.
Another thing I love about this book is the way the fathers engage with the younger vehicles. They are guiding their children through the routines of their everyday jobs, but they also are there to protect and support their children. The text in the beginning of the book states that Mighty Dads "keep them safe and bolted tight and show them how to build things right." That emphasis on doing their job correctly is referred to throughout the book. These dads take pride in what they do for a job, in doing it well, and teaching their children to do the job successfully also. And they don't neglect the fun, either. "Dump Truck Sturdy teaches Dumpy to get dirty." Isn't that the best part of a construction zone? There are so many opportunities to do a dirty day's work.
While the fathers exhibit patience, strength and pride, the young vehicles show their energy and enthusiasm. They want to be 'just like Dad'. Each of the little vehicles looks just like a mini version of their father. While they are trying to do their father's work, the younger versions always produce just a little less than their dads. Junior Crane has to work on hauling girders on the shorter side of the building; his dad, Crane Long Arm, is delivering beam on the taller side. Same with the dump trucks - Dumpy's pile of dirt is dwarfed by what his father has delivered. But the child's contribution is just as worthy. I love the nicknames Holub has created for the equipment too - there's Boom Truck Tall and Boomer, Excavator Big and Vator (I sort of wish this father/child pair were dressed all in black to give off the Darth Vader vibe). The nicknames keep each family related, but also keeps the personalities distinct.
Dean's illustrations are a perfect match for this story. The backgrounds are simple and bright, keeping the focus on the equipment and their actions. On the excavator page, there is a huge swath of blue sky framing the bright orange excavators. The excavator pair balances on the brown dirt, their scoops digging out the earth below. It helps create a sense of perspective for the reader, too. Excavator Big fills most of one side of the spread, while little Vator is even smaller than the adjoining text.
The most winning part of the illustrations are Dean's trademark faces incorporated into the vehicle windows. There is so much personality embued just by the slant of a large eye. The crane's long arm resembles a pointy nose because of the eye placement. Looking at the father-child pairs is so much fun. The solid primary colors from the backgrounds continue on to the vehicles themselves. It gives a sense of play to the construction work. They are bright, attractive, yet simply drawn - the way construction equipment should be. Each father is plain and hard-working, and proud of it.
And those hard-working fathers are proud of their children too. When the day of work is done, they celebrate their children's achievements: "When their rumble day is through - Mighty Dads say 'I'm proud of you! Tomorrow let's build something new!'" I love that the fathers end the day looking forward to spending the next with their children! And everyone is fast asleep as the book ends.
This book is going to be well-loved by Albert and his dad, and I can't wait to share it with them. Here's to a fun day spent together!
Mighty Dads. By Joan Holub; pictures by James Dean. Scholastic Press, 2014.
sent by the publisher on request.
