This Train

Rating:
Summary: All aboard This Train
Review: I picked this book up at my local library, and my 2yr old has carried it around ever since, he's had me read it to him several times a day. Even my 5yr old daughter finds it a great book to learn to read, with it's simple sentences..."This Train is old, This Train is new." I couldn't think of any better starter book for children than this one. It just so happens to be my sons favorite subject...."Trains"!

Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: My 3 1/2 son enjoyed the vivid illustrations and the almost rhythmic prose of "This Train". It was a good combination between real reading and reading by looking at the pictures.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful illustrations
Review: My 3 year old son LOVES this book! I had to purchase it for him last year after renewing it several times from the library. Wonderful illustrations and simple prose. My son "reads" the book himself. Highly recommended for those children who love trains.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful illustrations
Review: This book caused a tantrum at the library! My younger son found it there, and we read it through a few times, but forgot to take it out. When we got home and he realized this, he was so upset! He had instantly fallen in love with it, and we wound up buying it. The text is as simple as it can be---each page just says something like "this train is long" or "this train is short", but the pictures are detailed and colorful and the kind true train lovers can look at for hours. His favorite is the LONG, LONG train. This is the kind of book that young kids can memorize and "read" easily, which they love to do. I'd certainly recommend this for any member of the train loving set.

Rating:
Summary: Eye Candy for Train Lovers
Review: This book is excellent for a toddler or young child who loves trains. It is also a pleasure for adults to read. The illustrations are sumptuous, and almost seem to glow. The text is simple and makes comparisons between trains ("This train is going uphill. This train is going downhill"), but don't let the simplicity put you off. It's exactly the kind of thing that pre-readers and early readers enjoy the most. New concepts are introduced on each page with rhythmic repetition.

The frontspiece of the book contains labelled illustrations of various trains in a more realistic style. I've tried to see if each of these trains is featured in an illustration of the book, but I don't think they all are. My 3 year old enjoys pointing to these labelled trains and having me read the captions as much as he enjoys the text of the book itself. Both sets of illustrations complement eachother and increase the appeal of the book. Babies and toddlers will enjoy the simple text and bright illustrations. Older children may show an interest in the individual trains and their names. This book is one of those rare finds that children will want to hear over and over and that parents won't mind reading to them.