Down by the Station [Hardcover]

Will Hillenbrand (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 16, 1999 | Age Level: 3 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Did you ever wonder who rides the zoo train early in the morning? Climb aboard and join the mischievous, sleepy, and playful baby animals on their way to the children’s zoo. The engineer has to get them there before the first busload of children arrives . . . but these baby animals just want to have fun! This delightful adventure full of mishaps, daring rescues, and a runaway red balloon has a cumulative text and playful animal noises that will have readers singing along--if they’re not racing to the zoo to ride the train themselves.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"Down by the station, early in the morning," before any visitors arrive, who exactly is riding that zoo train? Hop aboard and find out! See the elephant calf waving good-bye to Mommy and Daddy. And there's a pink flamingo chick, ready to ride. Who's this sleepy black-and-white cub? Still wrapped in a blanket, the panda isn't quite awake yet. The train chugs merrily along, picking up baby animal passengers. But beware! There's danger in the pond beside the tracks. Will the seal pup and baby penguin escape from the circling crocodiles?

Will Hillenbrand, illustrator of Counting Crocodiles and The House That Drac Built, has always been curious about what goes on in a zoo before opening hours. Adapting a traditional children's song, Hillenbrand depicts his charming vision, and presents a parallel journey of a school bus approaching the zoo while the train is making its rounds. Children, as diverse as the chicks and cubs and kits, bound out of the bus to seesaw with the elephant and play kickball with the seal. And the napping panda? He's found his match in a blanket-toting boy. "Puff, puff, toot, toot, off we go!" Basic song notation is included in the back for budding musicians. (Ages 4 to 8) --Emilie Coulter

From Publishers Weekly

Hillenbrand's (The Golden Sandal) whimsical interpretation of a familiar song offers preschoolers a ticket to ride on an enjoyable excursion through a children's zoo. As an engineer makes repeated stops along the tracks, baby animals board a rainbow-tinted train. Each adds his or her own sound to the cumulative refrain: "Puff, puff,/ Toot, toot,/ Off we go!" from "Thrump, thrump" for the elephant calf to "Flip, flop" for the seal pup, building up a symphonic chorus that begs for audience participation. Hillenbrand shapes the simple song into a full-bodied story with a visual narrative populated by characters such as a kangaroo joey that jumps rope and a monkey that rescues a woman in the alligator pond via an upturned umbrella. The artwork foreshadows the creatures to come (e.g., a sign pointing to "Seal Island" appears on the spread before the seal pup's introduction), and the lyrics point up the unusual names of the animal offspring. Softly shaded but brightly colored, Hillenbrand's mixed media illustrations embrace an abundance of droll detail and gently outline landscapes in which the sky gradually changes from the pink hues of early morning to a glorious blue studded with cotton-candy clouds. All aboard for fun. Ages 3-6. (Sept.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books; 1 edition (August 16, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152018042
• ISBN-13: 978-0152018047
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 11.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #393,798 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Will Hillenbrand has illustrated many beloved picture books, including "Kiss the Cow by Phyllis Root"; "Smash! Mash! Crash! There Goes the Trash!" by Barbara Odanka; and "What a Treasure!" by Jane Hillenbrand. He also wrote and illustrated another Christmas story, "Asleep in the Stable". Will enjoys visiting classrooms to talk about the creative process involved in making a picture book. He lives with his wife, Jane, and their son, Ian, in Terrace Park, Ohio.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My son's favorite book!, September 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Down by the Station (Hardcover)

This is by far my 2 year old son's favorite book and he has lots of them. Whenever it's time to read to him he says "toot toot" and I know that means he wants to have this book read to him, sometimes several times in a row. The illustrations are wonderful, and there is all sorts of stuff going on if you look closely. An all around great, fun book, I highly recommend this book.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You will LOVE this book!, December 11, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Down by the Station (Hardcover)

My 3 year old is crazy about this book! The story (tune) is easy for him to sing along with, and the pictures are adorable. They really tell the story. There is so much detail to the pictures that we can spend lots of time on each page - "do you see where the balloon went this time?" "what is the elephant doing now?". I also absolutely love it that there are very diverse children in the book - even a little girl in a wheelchair. This is now one of my regular "gift" books for all new babies, too.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Book to "SING" to your children!, April 28, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Down by the Station (Hardcover)

My 2 1/2 year old LOVES this book...and so do I! It is so great to curl up with this book and spend some time singing the song (complete with wonderful animal noises) while looking at the cheery illustrations. The loving animal families as well as the children of all colors, shapes and sizes (even one in a wheel chair) lead to fun discussions as we read. My five year old loves it too!