Rating: 
Summary: For Train Lovers Everywhere...
Review: "Two little trains went down the track. Two little trains went west." So begins Margaret Wise Brown's story. One train is new and streamlined, the other old and slow, as they both make their way west, across rivers and hills, through rain and snow..... Ms Brown's gentle text is quiet and soothing and takes on the rhythm and cadence of a moving train. Her simple story is beautifully complimented by Leo and Diane Dillon's clever and detailed illustrations. Each two page spread shows the new powerful train on the left page, traveling across the country and the old toy train on the right, traveling through the house on its own imaginary journey. As the new train crosses a bridge over the river, the toy train chugs along the rim of the bathtub. As the new train climbs a mountain, the toy train climbs the stair railing. And, as the new train passes through a rain shower, water from the bathroom showerhead rains down on the old train... Though written in 1949, the text and artwork are as innovative and inspiring today as they were over fifty years ago. Perfect for pre-schoolers, Two Little Trains is sure to become a family favorite and like Ms Brown's classic, Goodnight Moon, a must read at bedtime.
Rating:
Summary: Enchanting Art Deco illustrations & lyrical writing
Review: Enchanting Art Deco influences, from the sleek lines of the "streamlined train" and billowing clouds, to the abstract vase of lilies on a table.
Dusky shadows and glowing cacti, all the illustrations are frameable, from the first page to the last. The prose is sparse and eloquent. Although the lines are simple they gleam with rhythm & feeling.
I felt as if this book was an allegory of the old underground rail used to guide runaways from slave stations to the free land in the west. Is it, or was it, I don't know.
Never heavy, the smooth words are a delight to read aloud and your child will be entranced by the illustrations.
The small toy train imitating the journey of the streamlined train which cuts through the night and the country side, the toy train pushed along imaginative & familiar routes inside the house and climbs the bannisters:
"Then the mountains came beyond the plain,
And the trains started climbing West,
the Up and around and over and through
The great high mountains to the West"
Rating:
Summary: A Successful Journey . . .
Review: I borrowed this book from our Public Library for my 2-year old train lover (he picked it out for the cover and illustrations), and we both liked it so much that I purchased it on Amazon. The words are simple and rhythmic and tell a simple story of traveling across the country to the west coast. The beautiful pastel illustrations flesh out the words magnificently. They are rich with things to look at, yet very soft and calming at the same time. The parallels presented in the pictures with each left/right spread are wonderfully engaging. For example, I love the real train going through a rainstorm while the toy train runs past the shower in the bathroom! Unlike some of the other reviewers, I believe even young (2 and up) children can understand the parallels between the two train's journeys, even without coaching from their reading partner. "Look, Mommie, the shower is like rain for the toy train!" It is a wonderful vehicle to help children think creatively. For adults, there are even more rewarding subtleties. For example, if you look at the cover, you note the toy train is wrapped in a gift box sitting atop the luggage on the train platform in front of the real train. The title pages show the box unwrapped before the story begins. In the last two pages of the book, the real train reaches its destination, and the toy train is seen on the floor approaching the bed of a sleeping child. I interepreted this as representing that someone who loved the child - a traveling parent, relative, family friend, etc. - had traveled on the real train to the child's home and brought the toy train as a present for the child. The two trains cross mountains and rivers, go through dark tunnels, rain and snow storms, and travel long distances to reach their destinations. As a mother, I found this to be a fine allegory of a parent's love. Neither rain, nor snow, nor fringe on the rug will keep a loving parent from a child's side. Each train faces trials which are difficult in their own measure for the train in question, yet each train ultimately completes its journey successfully. I find the last page - the image of the toy train reaching the sleeping child, to be wonderfuly evocative. Though the book ends there, as I believe it should, one can easily imagine the delighted child coming down the stairs in the morning, carrying the toy train, and looking eagerly for their loved one. I have no idea if that was Ms. Brown's intention, but that is how her book reached me. There are many levels on which to enjoy this book, and I heartily recommend it for age 2 and up along with their reading partners. The sense of coming home to warmth and safety make it a great bedtime book as well.
Rating: 
Summary: I think I like this book more than my son does right now.
Review: MY GRANDSON AGE 7 LOVES THIS BOOK HE HAS NOT PUT IT DOWN SINCE HE
RECEIVED IT AND WHAT ELSE IS NICE HE IS ABLE TO READ THE BOOOK TO
ME INSTEAD OF ME READING TO HIM
Rating:
Summary: A must for train lovers!
Review: My son is a train fanatic and enjoys this book very much. The comparisons between the real train and the toy train stimulate a lot of conversation and get him thinking about similarities and differences.
Rating:
Summary: A Beautiful Journey
Review: This is a gorgeous picture book, illustrated by the famous illustrators Leo and Diane Dillon (Caldecot Medal winners). The illustrations are in a lovely pastel art deco style, appealing to adults as well as children. The charming story - of a real and a child's train traveling across the country, with wonderful rhythm and sound words - reads very well to children, and is a huge hit with my 2 year old train lover. The Dillons have interpreted the child's train's journey especially well in their illustrations.
Rating:
Summary: I think I like this book more than my son does right now.
Review: This is a wonderful book for any little train lover. However, the subtle correlations between the "bedroom" train and the "country" train are lost on my 3 year old right now. I love how Brown mirrors the toy train set-up in the household with the real train travelling through the countryside on the opposite page. The artwork is lovely, and the story is clear and simple. It's a nice, calming book, perfect for the end of the day.
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Summary: That long steel track to the West...
Review: This sweet and innocent book weaves the parallel stories of two "little" trains, one real and one a toy. There isn't really a story here, just the moving poem which draws parallels between the real and the toy train -- illustrated with vintage simplicity, in muted colours, by the Dillons. The trains travel up hills and through tunnels, but always with their goal in mind. The toy train's mission is just as important as the big one, and though "professional" reviewers have quibbled with the absence of a child pushing the toy, I see that as a plus -- when a child plays trains, he is not the engineer or a passenger, but the unseen "deus ex machina." I suspect this is one of those books that I enjoy more than my kids (5 and 6); they didn't quite "get it", at first, and though my son is interested in trains, this book isn't really about trains in the sense that he enjoys. Though the parallels might be lost on younger children, that age group would probably respond better to the images of trains and scenery -- real and domestic -- that are so eloquently depicted in this book. ALSO...If your kids like this book, check out Burl Ives' album, "A Twinkle in your Eye," which has a lovely sung/spoken version of this book's verse:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000062EA/
Rating:
Summary: all aboard!!
Review: Two Little Train compares the life of a real train to that of a toy train. Each is pictured doing the same thing in it's own way. For example the real train is shown going over a bridge and the toy train is shown on the ledge of a bathtub. This book is sure to delight train lovers of all ages. It might be a little hard for young children to understand the parallels that are shown. Parents might have to expalin this to children under 4.
We recommend this book to children ages 1-4. The illustrations are colorful, fun, and contain lots of interesting things to look at.
Rating:
Summary: all aboard!!
Review: Two Little Train compares the life of a real train to that of a toy train. Each is pictured doing the same thing in it's own way. For example the real train is shown going over a bridge and the toy train is shown on the ledge of a bathtub. This book is sure to delight train lovers of all ages. It might be a little hard for young children to understand the parallels that are shown. Parents might have to expalin this to children under 4.
We recommend this book to children ages 1-4. The illustrations are colorful, fun, and contain lots of interesting things to look at.
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