William and the Night Train

My 3yr old received this for his birthday a couple of weeks ago and it is THE favorite for both bedtime and naptime. He loves this story and night after night asks the same questions about William and his mama. And just this week he decided to "read" it to me. But the sweetest part of the story in my opinion, is when William's mama finally gets him to calm down and he is lulled to sleep by her heartbeat. Listening to each others heartbeat has added another bonding moment for my son and I as he rides his own night train to tomorrow.

We got this book because of the title; my son shares the main character's name. So for that alone, we loved it. The pictures are lovely and have lots of the kind of small details you can use to engage a child in a book. And the rhyme scheme, while not entirely consistent, has a very train-like quality to it. Read aloud, your voice falls into the pattern of an accellerating steam train, with the lines getting longer as the train moves faster. It's not completely consistent, but it carries the train motif into the very sound of the words of the story. This 'choo-choo' ness is not just in the meter, but in the consonants of the words themselves; I found it was a fun book to read for that reason. This was a bedtime favorite for months, and not just because my son thought it was about him. The comforting rhythm and gradually hushing sounds of it drew him to it again and again.

This is the one book that my 13 month old consistantly grabs off the shelf and brings to anyone around to read. The illustrations are wonderful. The story tells of the classic battle of a child fighting against having to go to sleep in order to get to tomorrow. In the end his mother teaches him how to get to tomorrow fast. It is truely a nice addition to any child's library.

This book is beautifully illustrated and a perfect bedtime book (for obvious reasons). I like the way it presents the idea that you have to go to sleep to get to tomorrow. Quite lovely all around and a nice gift.

My 2 year old loves this book as much as I do! It is a classic tale of a child who doesn't want to sleep and the mother who coaxes him to bed. The drawings are striking, with details (of animals, trains, balloons and such) that keep everyone interested. The rhymes are fun to read and are perfectly paced for a bedtime story. After repeated (almost nightly) readings, I still enjoy reading it.