Customer Reviews

The Goodnight Train

5 star:		(67)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Zoom down a train track headed for Dreamland with this beautifully illustrated book. This quickly became my sons favorite book (and he has many). From the fun rhyming verses to the gorgeous pictures this book has it all. My son is 2 and going through a train phase so this book is the perfect thing to send him off to Dreamland. We blow our train whistle and cuddle on the bed. He's already memorized sentences from the book and it's the first book he actually has handed to me and insists I read. This book would be perfect for any child. It makes the whole bedtime ritual very fun and my son just knows it's time for bed when we're done. The illustrations are so vivid and detailed that they are great for teaching what certain objects are. I recommend this for all parents searching for that perfect bedtime book.

My 2- and 4- year olds both love this book!!! Upbeat and fun... a great book to read before bedtime! (My younger one loves it more than the older one!!)

This is such a fun and whimsical book for kiddos who loves trains. My 2 yr old is obsessed with trains and frankly, I'm tired of Thomas all the time. It's such a nice change, it rhymes (which she loves rhyming books.) It's a fun adventure about the train rocking them to sleep. The artwork is colorful, fun and interesting as well. The only way this book could be better is if it's a board book so little curious hands can't rip it. This one is a hard cover with a paper slip cover which kiddos can rip as well as the pages.

This is a very good nighttime book choice for the train obsessed. Besides have a good rhyme and cadence, the artwork is cute, with highlights of humor tucked away in the pictures. My son is five and still likes this book.

Four Stars ::: Nice Artwork: the art covers the entire page and the colors are vivid without being too eye-popping. Very Good Read-aloud: the 'ssshhh' and 'husha' sounds are soothingly worked into the rhyme.

Pam T ~

My toddler adore trains and we have quite the collection of train books. Due to the positive feedback this book received, I purchased a copy for him. After the first reading, I wasn't impressed but wasn't sure why so I decided to withhold judgment until further readings. I've finally decided why I don't like this book; the rhyme and rhythm are often interrupted, the overall storyline isn't solid, sending mixed messages, and rather than enhance and bring clarity to the story, the illustrations serve to further confuse the reader and leave a disconnect between the text and pictures.

The gist of the story is that a train is getting ready to take a trip, at the end of which it may sleep. The train cars are actually beds that are filled with children in pajamas, who take a ride on the train. At first, the porter tells the children to close their eyes as the train gets ready to roll, however a few pages later they "roll the corner, rock the curve, blankets bounce with every swerve," and all the kids are wildy awake, as they would be on a roller coaster. They bounce up in their beds as if they are about to fall off, yet the text says "Shhhhhhhhhhh! Shhhhhhhhhh!" as if this were soothing.

More confusing and out of sync elements:
The train is filled with coal resembling cookies that some of the characters are seen eating. For me, cookies and bedtime routines don't mix.

The text is written about the train, but the illustrations are about the children riding the train.

The train, which is clearly a passenger train filled with children, is called a "freight train" in the text.

In the center of the book there are two pages without text, just illustration, but the illustration neither furthers the storyline nor stands out well enough on its own. It also has a sign for bedbug removal, not a thought I want my kids worrying about before bedtime, as well as more characters eating cookies/coal, while the train swerves by impossible curves at high speeds so that the porter can barely hang on. (I usually skip it by holding these pages together.)

Some of the language is weak such as the first verb of the book which is "gets" and the second line which is passive with "being". But then there are pages with excellent visual language, such as "Smoke drifts high, painting clouds up in the sky." Or, "Curl through farms of fuzzy sheep."

At the end of the book, the engine, along with all of its cars of children pulls into what resembles a train roundhouse, with another cookie/coal shoot. To me this illustration doesn't exude peace and calm. As my older daughter asked me, "Why are they taking the children's beds into that dark place? Why don't they want to sleep in their own house?"

Overall, I gave this book two stars because to me it reads like a first draft, both in text and illustrations. There are a handful of pages with excellent rhyming verse (such as, "Cars sway on the wooden track. Wheels go click. Wheels go clack. Glide across a plain so flat. Gently toss this way and that.") Unfortunately, they are interspersed with mediocre language and a weak overall concept. An editor should have worked harder to bring out the best story possible and to align the images with that concept. My little guy does choose this book on occasion, which is why I didn't give it one star, but he'd rather read his other train books.

If your little one loves trains, as mine does, I don't think you're missing anything by leaving this book out of your collection.

My 3 year old son LOVES trains so we were excited to find a new train book for our bedtime routine. It's a fun story with silly pictures. The train passes through many interesting places on it's way to bedtime. My son enjoys pointing out all the oddities in the illustrations--mostly to draw out the story!

All of my kids love trains and this is a great bedtime story about going off to bed. The pictures are cute and it's not a very long book to read.

My 19 month old loves the pictures and the rhyme. Beautiful pics. A fun one for bedtime.

My 2 year old and I love this book. The illustrations are whimsical and beautiful and the writing moves in a rhythmic pace. I like that I can just read the words for a quick read, but that there are also so many sweet details (the skunk is squirting the man with the hose! The squirrel in the tree is checking his fridge for a snack! where is the skunk on this page?) that you can really savor the book, too. Too bad the train isn't real- who wouldn't want to fall asleep tucked cozily into bed on a train rolling through the nighttime countryside?

We gave this book to our two year old son for Christmas, by the end of the day it was already a favorite! A very sweet book with a nice rhythm. Illustrations are colorful and interesting.