Two Little Trains

When I became a children's librarian there were certain kid obsessions I was expecting. I expected kids to request books about dinosaurs, and unicorns, and magic. What I didn't expect was the overwhelming amount of books requested regarding trains. I thought the love of trains was long past and that kids would have forgotten their shiny chugging ways. But with the popularity of things like "The Polar Express" and "Harry Potter", trains are getting rediscovered all the time. That means any book, picture or otherwise, that capitalizes on this is going to be a hit. There is an abudance of poorly written train fare out there. Then you stumble across something like Margaret Wise Brown's, "Two Little Trains" which was recently reillustrated by the talented Leo and Diane Dillon. It's not only well-written but remarkably beautiful. Any and every young train enthusiast should pluck it up forthwith. Unlike many picture books, the story told by this one begins on the cover. As we look at this book we see a beautiful sleek silver train resting in a station. Beside it, alongside the track, sit two packed bags and a wrapped present of a toy train. By the time you read the title page the present has been opened (presumably by small hands) and the little train sits silently on the floor awaiting play. Then the words begin. "Two little trains went down the track/ Two little trains went West". On the left hand page sits the grand old silvery sleek train, gearing up to leave the station. On the right hand page you can just barely make out the little toy train as it sits beneath a kitchen chair, readying itself for its journey as well. As the big adult train travels through the countryside, the little toy train does the same, only on a much smaller scale. So when the big train goes through a mountainous tunnel, the little one passes under a propped up book that's entitled "Hills". When the big one goes over a river, the little one rides over the edge of a full bath. Rain on the big train? A bathroom shower on the little one. It continues in this fashion until at last the two trains reach their destinations when, "They had come to the edge of the West". Widely regarded children's author Margaret Wise Brown originally wrote this story in 1949, possibly with a completely different vision of how it would play out. After all, the text never says that one train is real and that the other a toy. Instead it says that one train was a "streamlined train" and that the other was, "a little old train". So presumably (and I haven't seen the original so I can't really attest to this) this was supposed to be a story about the old and the new trains of the world. Instead, illustrators Leo and Diane Dillon have given the book an entirely new life. The original words by Brown are just as catchy and interesting as they ever were. Incredibly enough, they have not aged. But the pictures are what really give you pause. Everything in this book is given a

MY GRANDSON AGE 7 LOVES THIS BOOK HE HAS NOT PUT IT DOWN SINCE HERECEIVED IT AND WHAT ELSE IS NICE HE IS ABLE TO READ THE BOOOK TOME INSTEAD OF ME READING TO HIM

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.

"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.