The Little Red Caboose (Little Golden Book) [Hardcover]

Marian Potter (Author), Tibor Gergely (Author)

Product Details

• Age Range: 3 - 7 years
  
• Hardcover: 24 pages
• Publisher: Golden Books; 1 edition (March 27, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307021521
• ISBN-13: 978-0307021526
• Product Dimensions: 0.2 x 6.5 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,404 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #16 in Books > Children's Books > Transportation

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome book to teach about being helpful December 30, 2004

By csm TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

If you're looking for a book on self worth and how everyone works as a team to make things happen, this is your book. The red caboose complains that the children never wave to him as he goes by because they all know that he's last. All the other train cars get their attention but no one notices him. He laments that he would like to be the big steam engine in the front or one of the other cars instead. However, one day, the big engine tries to pull the train up a mountain and well, can't. The train starts to slip but the red caboose puts on his brake and keeps the train from falling down the mountain until two big engines pull up behind to push the train up the mountain. The caboose saved the day and then all the children saved their biggest waves for him! You're never too small to make a difference, even if you are last! Great book, my little guy just loves it and it is so wonderful for the train lover in your house too. It's also nice to see the caboose for a change too - I really miss them! Be prepared for tons of questions though - this book covers a bunch of stuff and the illustrations are just beautiful. A great find and it can be more easily found in your local store too.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Little Red Caboose August 15, 2001

By Sandra Thomas

Format:Hardcover

I bought this book 29 years ago, for my son, who was 17 months old at the time. It was read to him many times, as it was his favorite book. The pictures fascinated him, and he became very interested in trains. By the time, he was two, he had it memorized. It is a great book for children. It teaches a lesson, and it is a fascinating story. For years, I have looked for this book, as the original one, wore out. So, I bought this book, for my son, who just had his 30th birthday,and recently married, to pass down to his children. I highly reccommend this book for children from ages 1 on up. I have always enjoyed this book, along with my son, and never tired, reading it to him. It is great!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars WELL ILLUSTRATED EDITION OF CLASSIC STORY September 22, 2006

By D. Blankenship HALL OF FAMETOP 50 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

This is one of those stories that all kids know, or eventually will. This story was first published around 1952. It is still around and as popular as ever. This says a lot. The story by Marian and the Illustrations by Tibor Gergely in this edition are great. The text is quite readable and the pictures eye catching. The theme of the story "too help" is quite universal and no worse for the wear. This is a nice additon to any childern's library. Recommend this one highly.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars THE RED CABOOSE JUST KEEPS ROLLING ALONG February 5, 2001

By "hurburgh"

Format:Hardcover

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"The Little Red Caboose" is a classic children's book from the early 1950s. The fact that it is still popular and in print tells us what a timeless classic it is. It is one of the best of the "Little Golden Books" series that were first published in that Golden Era for children's books. There was a simple naivety to childhood then. A child's world was uncomplicated and full of innocence.

The story could not be simpler. The caboose always came last. He was sad because the loco and the wagons got all the waves from the children. He thought, "nobody cares for me".

However, one day, the train was so heavily loaded that it started to slip backwards when going up a tall mountain. The caboose slammed on his brakes and kept the train from sliding backwards. He saves the train.

The illustrations by Tibor Gergely are what make this book so appealing. The scenes are full of life and activity, be it the forests with its friendly animals and the colourful towns, farms with lots of happy people.

Everybody loves the era of steam trains with their solid, comforting dependability. Go back and revisit the world of "The Little Red Caboose". There were still some horses and buggies on the roads back then, but there is a portent of the busier modern world soon to come. In one scene we see an airliner in the sky.

Tibor Gergely was a great children's book illustrator from this period. In addition to his artwork in the Caboose you can enjoy his illustrations in those other "Little Golden Book" classics, "Scuffy the Tugboat" and "Tootle". These three books are perfect companions in any young person's library.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Great book, poor manufacturing July 30, 2011

By enzovega

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This was my favorite book as a child and I wanted to share it with my 10-month-old son. It's a great story for kids and every illustration is unique with many different and interesting aspects. The overall material quality, however; is poor. I don't remember that my childhood book was as poorly-made as this one. The trademark gold foil spine is very thin and was peeling off when it arrived. The almost transparently thin pages protrude outside the cheap cardboard covers and the print on some pages is so offset that it almost looks as if the image was meant to be seen through 3D glasses. It's disappointing that an American treasure like Little Golden Books has become a victim of such low-grade manufacturing.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars He kept that train from sliding down the mountain! December 17, 2005

By Sean W. Hawley

Format:Hardcover

This is another Tibor Gergely classic and another favorite from my own childhood. The illustrations here are not as good as those Mr. Gergely supplied for Scuffy the Tugboat or Seven Little Postmen (and neither is the prose, this time care of Marian Potter). However, my two-year-old son loves the book, demanding that I read it to him nearly every evening. He likes the various images of the train which are also brimming with incidental details: countless children and animals, mountain climbers, boats, school busses, carriages, kites, bridges, produce stands, and castles, just to name a few. Sometimes, he will "read" the book himself. Because the prose is simple and repetetive, he is easily able to remember and recount portions of the text. Of course, the book also teaches a good lesson about being useful, as most train storybooks seem to do (e.g., Thomas, Tootle, The Little Engine That Could).