Hello, I'm Richard Nimz, prospector of the written word and literary explorer extraordinaire. I'm going to break with my title now and delve into 'classic' fiction, since I'm at that module in my class. Still, this is a book I've never heard of, so I imagine that it's possible that many other people haven't heard of it either. So, with that in mind, I present Freight Train by Donald Crews.
Citation: Crews, Donald (1978). Freight Train. New York: Greenwillow Books.
Summary: I feel a little silly including a summary of the plot of the book, since there isn't one, really. It's just a picture of a train going on its way, showing the different kinds of cars on the train, the different colors of the rainbow (and black), and the various things a train might pass by or through on its way. There isn't really a plot, just a bunch of things the author wants to show us.
My impressions: Still, I liked it. The art is simple, but still appealing and it touched on that childish love of trains I still have. It also went beyond the usual cars on a train, the caboose, the coal car, and the engine, and actually listed other cars, like the hopper car and the gondola car. My only regret is that what these cars actually do is never listed. I hear that the author made an updated version called Inside Freight Train in 1991 that showed what the cars carried, but plain old Freight Train is a good enough book. To quote Karyn Wellhousen's review: "Donald Crews has effectively captured our enchantment with trains... His style draws readers quickly into the book...".
Uses: The main use I can think of is to use it as a springboard when and if my library decides to talk about trains. However, this book is also a Caldecott honor book, and it could also be used as inspiration for an art day at the library, for kids and adults alike.
In conclusion, another good book. Feel free to check it out if your kid has an interest in trains, he won't be disappointed.
Sources:
Wellhousen, Karyn (n.d.). Freight Train - Book Review. Common Sense Media. Retrieved from http://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/freight-train
No comments:
Post a Comment