Trains and Railroads Books

We Love this book. I have 2 boys - 4 and 2. We were given a copy of the board book when the oldest was a baby. We read it so often that we wore it out and I had to buy a new copy. We went with the hardback this time since the boys are getting older. I'm hoping they won't destroy it too fast. I actually like this copy better. The book is larger and the pictures are beautiful (not in a gorgeous Polar Express kind of way but in a cute kind of way).
I've read it so many times I can quote the whole book :) This is a great book for any child but especially for those who love trains.

We've read this book to our little guy since he's been 18 months and he still loves it at 2 and a half. It's a fun reader as it has a good rhythm and fun pictures to talk about.

Chugga chugga choo choo - my daughter will always reply with whoo whoo. So much fun!!

Just bought this book to have something else to read to my 6.5 month old son. He and I both love it. It's rhythmic and the illustrations are bright, bold and captivating.

My son has loved this book for over a year now (he just turned two). I took him for blood work once and read him this book during the procedure. Once I started reading, he stopped crying completely. The illustrations are great; fun rhyming text; perfect length to hold a little boy's attention.

I must've checked these books out from the library 5 or 6 times when I was a kid. If you like to read and are interested in American history, these books are a must read.

Family Apart follows the lives of Irish children. They move from Ireland during the potato famine to NY to survive. But then their da dies and their ma finds it impossible give her family the basic needs. She decides to send them WEST so they can have the basics, education, and love. I read this book to many children because it is a quartet of books. Afterwards, they want to read the sequels. These tell the individual stories of each child. Being historial fiction, it also leads into to reading real accounts of Orphan Train riders lives. The book is exciting and has many emotions that children can identify with now.

What if you and your family had to leave your mother and go west on one of the orphan trains to be split up into differnt families?

In this book you'll experience the wide array of feelings the kelly children are feeling and the adventure that the kelly chilren have to endure. The kelly's dicover Mike, the oldest boy, is a copper stealer, they are being taken from thier mother, and most comfort Mike because he blames himself for all that has happened.

I recommand this book to anybody who like suspenseful novels or is just looking for a good book to read.

I really enjoyed reading the book Family Apart, because it keeps you guessing , whats going to happen next? Also it helps you learn a lot about orphans and what they go through. A Family Apart has a lot important teachings to offer. I would love to read the next six books in the series.

This wonderful book A Family Apart has a lot of meaningful things that can be learned. One lesson that can be learned is, that you don't know what you've got until its gone. If you have something or know somebody that means a lot to you, once you lose them you don't realize how important it was until its gone. A moral that can help you in life is to believe in yourself. Believing in yourself is good because if you are trying to reach a goal and you believe in yourself you will reach that goal and if you don't you might not. Another lesson that can be learned in this book is to love your family. You should love your family because they do a lot for you and they are your only family. The last great moral is to accept changes. Even though accepting changes is hard we have to, because sometimes we cant change them. As you can tell this great book A Family Apart has a lot of important teachings to offer.

My grandson loves this book, and so do his two big sisters. And their daddy loves to read it out loud, which is what I had in mind!

The Goodnight Train is a lovely bedtime story that takes the reader from bathtime to bedtime aboard the Goodnight Train. Its gentle rhyming text and train sounds make it a fun book to read: "Wheels are turning. Smoke drifts high, painting clouds up in the sky. Huff-a-puff-a! Huff-a-puff-a Chooooo! Chooooo!" The whimsical details in the illustrations also make this book engaging for preschoolers and kindergarteners.

My four-year-old son, who loves trains, has decided that this is one of his favorite bedtime stories. And since I like it too, I don't mind reading it three or four times a night!

-Sherry Ellis
Author of That Baby Woke Me Up, AGAIN

First off I hardly ever leave reviews for books but this one was a must. This book is AMAZING. The illustrations, the story line... it is one of the best books I have ever bought for my kids. We have been reading it at bedtime for 3 years now and it never fails, they want it read every single night! My boys are now 3 and 4 years old.

The only downside to this book for our household is that it is not a board book. We have had to replace it 3 times now because it was accidentally left out and our boys got it and tore some pages while trying to look through it. Other than that it is an incredible book and we could not go to bed without it.

ps. our kids love it when we read it like a choo choo picking up speed. Slow to start, then fast, then faster, then really fast, and then slower until the train falls asleep. This book is perfect for reading it this way!

If your 2 year old "train conductor" (parents included...)remembers lines from the book AND your 5 year princess can appreciate the rhymes enough to stay still for A "Choo Train" story... you've got yourself a winner!

My son is 3 1/2 and still loves this book, even after we have read it for almost 2 years. He will have it as a favorite for a few weeks, then go back to it again weeks after that. The best thing about this book is, I still haven't gotten sick of reading it (over and over and over), which is great. The detail of the illustrations is amazing, and it has a wonderful rhythmic story. We have a lot of books and read every night to our kids, and this is definitely in my top three of his books for him and for me.

My son is only three and he loves this book (as do his parents). It's all about choosing your path, being true to yourself; and perseverance! Truly heartwarming. I even gave a copy to a dear friend going through a divorce. Regardless of sex or age; a wonderful book.

My last semester in my classes to be a teacher my professor read this to us at the end of the term. Everyone was so inspired from this story since we all worked so hard to get where we were and it was nice to be recognized. I plan to purchase this book for graduation gifts and when I teach I will read this to my students at the end of the term as well. It is not only inspiring but it is encouraging to keep on going.

I bought this book for a boy who I work with and I fall in love. I found it in great time cause feel down right now. And this simple book helped me stand up and look at my life from different perspective. Now will buy it for every kid or special people in my life

Whether or not you or your honoree grew up listening to or reading The Little Engine that Could, you'll find this book to be the perfect way to say, "I'm proud of you, graduate. I always knew that you had the ability and would put forth the effort to be successful."

This is a great alternative to other frequently given books like The Places You Will Go.

This is the most inspirational book I have read in a long time!! Recommended for all ages

Literally. What you see on the outside cover, is what you'll see on the inside. Great for little kids who love trains, totally boring for parents after the 5th time through... or sooner, depending on your tolerance.

The book literally has pictures of trains with their name or type written below. It is cool to see the different types and such, but there's not really anything to read. We utilized this book to work on our son's memory and assigning names to objects. It took some time, but he began to associate trains on one page with others like them on other pages, so it got some good use that way.

Otherwise, it became a favorite book for him and a favorite DISLIKE for us to read -- because there's nothing to read!!!

So, great for hte kids a bit boring for the reader!

Sometimes, YOU CAN judge a book by it's cover!

MY 8 YEARS OLD SON ENRIQUE LOVES TRAINS AND THIS BOOK IS EXCELLENT. HE LOVE IT! IT HAS NICE PICTURES AND FOR THE PRICE IS AN A PLUS!!!

I bought this book for my grandson, who is in love with all trains. He loves it!

My son is in LOVE with trains right now and this book is prefect. It is BIg Board Book with pictures of all different types of real trains.

The Priddy board books are very sturdy and have great photos--all my boys have loved them!

I have never seen a book like this one. There are books on trains, locomotives, steam and diesel, and railroad development, but this book occupies, it seems to me, a unique spot in Railroad information, as there has been seldom any treatment of what it was like to actually be a trainman--fireman, conductor, brakeman, engineer, stationmaster, etc. Somehow the most important part of railroading, the personnel that made the industry function appear to be the last thing mentioned, and that only in passing. This book not only is an excellent biography of a Pennsy RR Engineman during the salad days of Steam locomotion, but is a long needed treatment of what it was like to "Work on the Railroad." I only wish there were more like it, that, as does this work, cover the details in depth of what it was, and is like: working conditions, knowledge and skills needed, how the job was done,and so forth. I can't give this book anything other than an A-double plus!

John Orr's story of his father's 45 years as a Pennsylvania Railroad engineman deserves to be a classic. Whether you're a fan of the Pennsy or not, you'll find this highly readable account fascinating. For those of us who came along after mainline steam locomotives passed into history, the book provides a wonderful glimpse of life during the steam era. You ride with O. P. Orr as he works almost every class of locomotive on the railroad, learning what he thought of each of them. Even if the reader knows something about those engines, he gains new insights into their intended uses. Equally interesting are the accounts of daily life on the rails as well as what happens when something goes wrong. If you are a fan of the PRR, you must have this book.

Essential reading for all rail enthusiasts, not just PRR. A great historical overview of the life and times of a railroad engineer in Central Pennsylvania, from the turn of the century to WWII.

As I read this book I could almost feel the track clicking below the engine, hear the chuffing of the engine as it labored to pull the cars, listen to the lonesome sound of the whistle as the engineer arrived at the crossing and feel the power as the fireman put the coal to the firebox and the engineer pulled the Johnson bar. All in all a great read and a book that anyone interested in the steam era would read with relish.

One of the most compelling railroad books I've read - the narrative is compelling because of Orr's consistent, insightful commitment to doing his job well and discovering the most efficient way to get his train over the road. Of course hardcore railfans will enjoy this book, but I think students of industrial history and those interested in the way people go about their jobs (a la Studs Terkel/working) will get something out of this book as well.

My friend saw a special on tv, and wanted me to look on the internent for this book for her grandson. As always, Amazon, came thru. She and her grandson enjoyed the book.

I found this book in a public library in Japan and borrowed it to read to my 3 year old son. He has a strong interest in trains, so I thought this could be a good break from the daily grind of Thomas the Tank Engine stories.

The story is about a steam engine named Choo Choo who hauls passengers, mail, and baggage to and fro. She has a dream to be free from her monotonous life and to be admired for her speed and grace. She finally gets the chance to run without a load and ends up running out of control. Her patient engineer and conductor find her and bring her home safely. She learns a lesson and doesn't wish to run off alone anymore.

The story bears a striking resemblance to Stop, Train, Stop! a Thomas the Tank Engine Story (Beginner Books(R)). That is another story where a train decides to run away as fast as it can in order to impress onlookers. I can't help but think that the Thomas version is based almost wholly on the Burton story of Choo Choo.

The charcoal art is amazing. Each page is illustrated with a smoky charcoal sketching that makes the old-timey-ness of the story come to life. The greasy, dirty, smoky world of steam locomotives becomes a real-live place to readers of this book.

The quaint "Once upon a time" beginning was a little strange, but soon forgotten. However the layout of the text itself was something I could never get over. The shrinking of each line of text into a cone, or the lines shaped in waves made reading aloud difficult. It is easy to read ahead, but much of that skill also relies on visual cues from the text itself. I found myself tripping over certain phrases due to the unorthodox text. The clever textual layout may add artistic merit to the book, but it detracts from the book as a read-along.

That said, it's a fun book with lots of train sounds for kids to catch on to. The story teaches that one shouldn't go off without a good plan, but also that loved ones are always there to help you when you need help.

My 3rd son loves trains much more than my 1st who loved them a lot, but...although he doesn't have a ton of words yet and is only starting to put 3 or more words together can tell you the entire plot of this story...fills in the word missing if you stop for a second...points out people in the book as his cat, his grandma, etc...it has everything a train loving kid could ask for including another favorite with sounds and farm animals! Great classic...hope they come out with a board book for those nights when you really need to get them to bed!!! or to take in the car!!!

Choo Choo the runaway engine is a delightful story that mesmerizes three to four year old boys who like trains. Our son asks for this volume each night.
As with all of Virginia Lee Burton's books, the illustrations are delightful, here all rendered in charcoal, which is strangely appropriate for the "shiny black engine" at the center of the story.
The story is simple and easily understood by little readers, and they can pick out some words and map them to the illustrations. There is nothing objectionable in the tale, involving an engine who wants to break free of her responsibilities and run away to be the center of attention. Her engineer, conductor, and coal-man all work hard to chase her and bring her back, and she learns the lesson that running away from those who care for you typically ends in disaster.
We bought our edition in London, without the cassette, which strikes me as a bit datted in this CDROM and DVD era.
Highly recommended.

My train-loving son really enjoyed this book many times but we never bought it because it takes a little while to read it. Some nights when you're trying to hurry up the bedtime routines it feels like a very, very long time to read it.

One of our son's favorite first books!! Also have Trucks, Planes, and Boats. Trucks and Trains most favorite with Boats least favorite.

A staple board book for a 2 yr old! Sweet illustrations, short and to the point wording. The absolute best for a two year old train enthusiast!! My daughter still loves this book (and the "Planes" book by the same author) at almost 4 yrs old. This was one of the books she had memorized at 2 yrs old.

My son loved this book from the time he was about 15 months old. The words and the illustrations are simple and catchy. I'm not sure if this one comes in paperback but I highly suggest getting all of the Barton books in the board book style. They are sure to be read over and over!!

This story was kind of boring, not as melodic as some of the other books (Cars is our favorite) but kind of cute. Graphics are somewhat boring too (compared to the others)

Byron Barton's Trains has become an unlikely favorite for our 2-year old. I say unlikely because it's so different from what most of his favorites (which are heavy on Sandra Boynton, Jez Alborogh, and the Spot series) are like. The art is extremely simple, using lots of bold colors, and the story doesn't rhyme or feature any noticeable repetition. It's not really even a story at all, but rather a descriptive sentence on each page highlighting the kind of train or activity shown.

I don't know whether it's the bold colors or just the subject matter (my son is absolutely fascinated by all kinds of vehicles), but this little board book went straight into his bedtime "top 5" and shows no sign of leaving! I may not get it, but I'm confident enough after seeing my son's reaction to this book to recommend Trains to the parents of any toddler interested in trains.

Exceptionally written and illustrated book. Author Jimmy Liao is a brilliant artist with the soul of a poet. His illustrations are vibrant and beautifully detailed and his language is simply while profound. This work is a mystical journey of the spirit that should challenge aspiring childrens authors to create such unique experiences for adults and children. Colors is a journey that can and should be shared betwen parent and child and followed thoughout life.

Jimmy Liao is my favourite illustrator and I was excited to find his book translated into English. I have seen the illustrations before in the Chinese book and enjoyed them on a visual level. However, having the text in English really brought the story to life.

The story is of a young woman who is going blind - it is an exploration of sight and how imagination can compensate for the loss of sight. The ending is inspiring.

This book would be excellent to expose children to a different perspective of the world and also would make a lovely gift for any adult who enjoys detailed and whimsical illustrations.

The reason I bought this book is I rented a movie called "The Sound of Color". It is a movie about a woman who is blind, strong, resourceful and full of joy. In the movie she teaches a man who becomes blind how to live and navigate around the city he once knew. The movie has drawings from the book and I became intrigued. The director of the movie told how he loved the book but it was hard to bring it to film. I disagree with him because his film and the book tells of one persons joy with the world around her even though she becomes blind and can't see it anymore. The beautiful ink and watercolor drawings with the powerful story will show you another way to look at your world and inspire your imagination.

This books is good in English, but I preferred the Chinese version much better. In English, things got a little over simplified, where as they were more complex in Chinese. I recently saw the Chinese version available for sale on the China Books website.
This book is age appropriate for older children to adults, not exactly children. I wouldn't buy it for anyone younger than 10.

With allusions to "The Wizard of Oz," "Alice in Wonderland," and psychologist/anthropologist C. G. Jung, "Color of Sounds" tells teh story of a blind young girl who rides a vast subway network because "I have a journey to go on. There are some thing I need to find." What follows is a remarkable narrative about internal and external discovery, with some of the most luscious and creative illustrations in recent memory.

The girl disembarks at various subway stops (subway illustrations are always panelled strips running across the middle of a two page spread), and climbs colorfully patterned stairs (often reminscent of M.C.Escher) and arrives at archtypal settings: An apple tree sitting Eden-like in a verdant forest, alongside dolphis and atop a whale, a topiary-adorned maze. Jimmy Liao presents his metaphors on both adult and children's levels. While adults may recognize the symbolic conflicts and issues presented by a maze; for example, children benefit from the explicit text: "Sometimes the street twist themselves into a maze.But if you look hard enough, there's always a way out. Other sections may benefit from discussion at an age-appropriate level. At one subway station, there are four trains going in both directions, all filled with people, and all colored differently. THe girl stands between them, "Which is the right one? It's easy to get lost underground."

At his point, she seems to take her own route, riding a kiddie train (decorated with motifs decorated a la Guaguin, Matisse, and others), then abandons the train to a white swan swimming against a cloudy yet luminescent background (a mystically beautiful and serene illustration). She slowly arrives at her answers. "HOme is the place where everything I've lost is waiting patiently for me to find my way back." She realizes that because she "went forward, step by step, into the dark," used her other sense (listening "for the sound of colors I can't see"; smelling the shapes and tasting "the light and dark," and hoping for someone "who'll sit beside me, sip tea, tell me her hopes for the future, and listen to mine." (Here, the two-page spread depicts her sitting on a green oval-shaped chair, surrounded by four rows of empty chairs in various colors, shapes, and sizes.

Towards the conclusion, the young girl encounters a butterfly, whom she believes may offer the answers to her hopes and dreams:

She'll tale me
to the friend I need to find.
She'll lead me to the place
where all the colors are.

she'll bring me back to the light that I lost,
still glowing here, in my heart.

An enormously colorful mosaic of birds, flowers, eyes, and other motifs surround the now smiling girl, when Liao write "in my heart." It's neither saccharine or precious. While the book may be read at many levels, and it simulatneously present many emotions and moods (fear, comfort, solitude, hope, wonder) the overall effect is an almost staggering visual and narrative display of poetry. The undertones can be dark and may even frighten some children (know your audience), but for othos who have begun their own journies of self- and other- discovery, for those who feel lost or have experienced pain, poor health, or disability, this book highlights the fact and ignites thought of possibility and transcendance.

I don't usually take the time to do this review stuff, but I felt compelled to let others know about this book. I'm not an experienced model railroader and I have even less experience with full scale railroads, so from this beginners perspective the book is perfect. It walks the reader through the basics of very complex ideas in railroading, model or otherwise, without over simplifying or becoming dull. The concepts as John wrote them are very easy to digest, well organized and well illustrated in diagrams. It explains yards, passing tracks, time tables, curves, grades, and a long roster of other building blocks as it relates to planning, constructing and operating your model railroad empire again at a level of detail that I've yet to come across in some other books and publications I've read. Although I'd suggest this book to any railfan simply to learn more about railroading, I'd strongly suggest this book to those like myself just getting into the hobby of model railroading.

Some concepts are not for the beginner. Let's you use your imagination to create outstanding layouts.

John Armstrong is one of the best known names to the model railroad hobby. He has written extensively but this book is his finest work.

A person interested in railroads finds himself caught up in lots of detailed scenes and complex trackwork. Armstrong explains what it all does and why it is arranged in the way it is. He does this by explaining railroad practice in the real world and then by looking at the problems faced by the modeler. He does so in a lucid and interesting manner...for the first half of the book.

While the first half of the book is dedicated to teaching about how railroads operate, the second is intended to teach how to model them effectively. He explains broad general concepts and then refines things and explains them in easy stages. He knows where the pitfalls are and he points out solutions.

This is a useful book for anyone from beginner to advanced but especially the beginner.

This is a great book on how to run and plan your next model railroad. Gives great idea's and samples of yards, train movements and point to point locations. Not just for beginers.

I don't think anyone in the model railroad hobby can say enough about the contributions of the late John Armstrong. His layout designs are masterpieces of getting the most out of a given space and working with the tradeoffs we all enevitably face. The book gives an overview of prototype operations and then goes into countless ideas and pointers for design and operation. I found the section on curve planning (p. 76), schematics (Chap. 8), and laying out an "easement" (p. 116) particularly useful. I recommend this to anyone planning a first layout or for anyone building a second layout after messing up their first. It is a good companion to "Classic Layout Designs," also by John Armstrong.