Train They Call the City of New Orleans

Rating:
Summary: A STORY THAT MAKES YOU SING
Review: Bright with Michael McCurdy's striking woodblock illustrations, "The Train They Call The City of New Orleans," a classic tune captured by the voice of Arlo Guthrie, comes to lilting life beginning with a map of the train trip from Chicago to New Orleans.

Evocative of a time when most travelers in the United States crossed the country by train, the lyrics of this familiar song are preceded by a map of the train's route.

Beginning in wintry Illinois readers find the "restless riders" in one of those fifteen cars, and watch the conductors prepare for their duties. Sacks of mail are loaded, and then the train pulls out of Kankakee through "freight yards full of old black men and the graveyards of the rusted automobiles."

Later Pullman porters ready berths for the night as engineers guide the mammoth locomotive toward the Midwest and Louisiana.

Youngsters will respond to the arresting illustrations and soon be humming along with the narrative.

- Gail Cooke

Rating:
Summary: Not just for kids!
Review: If you love the song, made famous by Arlo Guthrie, you probably like trains. If you like trains, this book is sure to delight you! It's a wonderful tribute to the classic folksong! Steve Goodman composed "The City of New Orleans" while riding the Illinois Central, while observing his fellow passengers and the passing landscape. Who can forget the warm images he recounted: of the old men playing cards, the young mother nursing her baby, the passengers being lulled to sleep by the rhythm of the rails? "Everything in this song actually happened," Goodman once said; "I'm no good at fiction." Michael McCurdy's illustrations, a combination of woodcuts and watercolors, must be seen and savored! The book is aimed toward children, and kids are certain to enjoy it. But I believe it will evoke stronger emotions in baby-boomers who remember the song and how it actually felt to "be gone 500 miles when the day is done".