Chugga Chugga Choo Choo [Hardcover]

Kevin Lewis (Author), Daniel Kirk (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 2 and up

A rhyming story about a toy freight train's day, from loading freight in the morning to retiring to the roundhouse after the day's work is done.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Kids love trains, and Kevin Lewis and illustrator Daniel Kirk's Chugga-Chugga Choo-Choo will do nothing but encourage the obsession. "Sun's up! / Morning's here. / Up and at 'em, / engineer," cheerfully begins this rhyming picture book. As the simple large-lettered text chugs along, Daniel Kirk brings a child's playroom and train set to life with bold, bright illustrations reminiscent of his work in Bigger. In the course of the book, the toys bustle about to make sure the steam engine is loaded up with freight and finds its way (through the country, 'round the mountains, into tunnels, and across the river) to its destination--the city. There the "sleepy-sleepy choo-choo" rests, right next to a tired little boy, until the next day's work begins: "To the roundhouse / you are bound. / Good night, engine, / safe and sound." (Baby to preschool)

From Publishers Weekly

First-time author Lewis and Kirk (Breakfast at the Liberty Diner) here embrace an enduring childhood fantasyAthe playroom that comes alive at nightAand pare it down for very young readers. A toy engineer and his son drive a train loaded with "freight" (actually an assortment of playthings) around a labyrinth of track laid out in a sleeping boy's bedroom. Other toysAa jack-in-the-box, a Humpty Dumpty, a trio of plush raccoonsAhelp load and unload the cargo, or greet the train as it passes by. Lewis's brief, rhyming couplets mime a locomotive's momentum in their rhythm: " 'Round the mountains, high and steep./ Through the valleys, low and deep." The onomatopoeic refrain, set in playful typography, is familiar but infectious: "Chugga-chugga/ choo-choo/ whistle blowing/ Whoooooooo! Whooooooooo!" Kirk's dramatically shaded, panoramic paintings revel in the toys' bold shapes and colors as well as in the disparate relationships of their sizes to one another and to the environment. He gives the classic subject matter an up-to-the-minute look: his compositions have the modeled, 3D look of computer-aided art, and his surfaces a high-gloss, airbrushed smoothness. Kids will be glad to climb aboard for the ride. Ages 2-5. (May)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 2 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion Book CH; 1st edition (January 1, 1900)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786804297
• ISBN-13: 978-0786804290
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 12.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (156 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,880 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #2 in Books > Children's Books > Transportation > Trains
  • #30 in Books > Children's Books > Sports & Games > Activities & Toys

More About the Author

Kevin Lewis is the author of My Truck Is Stuck!, The Lot at the End of My Block, and Chugga-Chugga Choo-Choo. He is a children'Â’s book editor and lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

62 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Come inside a boy's imagination for some train play!, October 3, 2002

By 

christinemm - The Thinking Mother (Houston Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Chugga Chugga Choo Choo (Hardcover)

This is a great rhyming story about a boy's imaginative train play. A young boy has set up a creative train layout in his room: going over the fish tank (bridge), to the freight yard, up mountains, down valleys, etc. His entire room is laid out with track and many of his toys are involved in the layout such as blocks to prop up the track and dolls to lift boxes. As we read the book we see the toys "moving" and doing jobs and the illustrations are such that we are as small as the train and looking out and around as if we were riding the train ourselves. At the end the train is said to go into the roundhouse and the boy is seen sleeping in bed with his locomotive and the track laid out on the floor all around his room! Great imagination!

The text itself is well written and rhyming and just has a great flow to it.

I bought our first hardcover edition right after it was published which was over 3 years ago. My older son has loved this since he was 2 years old and I have read it over and over and over. He is a real train lover and even now at age 5 he loves this book (over many of the other train-themed children's fiction books we own).

The text is not annoying in any way and I truly don't groan when I have to reread it to him several times. My second son has loved this book since infancy. Sadly, after 3 years of handling it finally fell apart and now I am buying a second hardcover edition. I browsed the board book version in a store but was disappointed. The hardcover is a larger size than usual and the illustrations are bold and large. In the board book version some of the illustrations are greatly pared down in size and much is lost. If you own the board version I highly recommend also buying the hardcover edition if your child likes the book. This would make a great gift!

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Whoooooooo! Whoooooooo! Winner!, May 10, 2002

By 

History_of_Art_Geek (Phoenix, AZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chugga Chugga Choo Choo (Hardcover)

Tag along with a little boy and his steam engine as they "chugga-chugga choo-choo" to the city on a very busy day. This engaging little book, (also available in board size), begs to be read repeatedly due to its wonderfully rhythmic prose and vibrantly animated illustrations. "Sun's up! Morning's here. Up and at 'em, engineer. Chugga-chugga choo-choo, whistle blowing, Whoooooooo! Whoooooooo!" This book is actually a nighttime story, but my 11th month old is so enthralled by the vivid colors and musical beat that I read it to him after his naps. Oh, and not just for little boys, my four-year old niece adores this book. She asks for Chugga-chugga choo-choo and walks around afterwards saying Whoooooooo! Whoooooooo! A real winner! Birth and up.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Required Book for your child's library, May 28, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Chugga Chugga Choo Choo (Hardcover)

We borrowed this book from the library. After having it read to him for the first time, my 2 1/2 year old son practically took possession of it. We returned it 3 days ago and he asks for it repeatedly. I told him that we would borrow it again later. Tonight, just as he was falling asleep, he said "Chugga, where are you? In the library? Come back later." Now I have to buy it so that he will always have it on hand when he wants it. This is a wonderful book for reading out loud. I would love to send a personal note to Mr. Lewis and Mr. Kirk telling them how much we enjoy this book.