Two Little Trains (Paperback)

by Margaret Wise Brown (Author), Leo And Diane Dillon (Illustrator) "Two little trains went down the track,..." (more)
Key Phrases: two little trains

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Two-time Caldecott Medalists Leo and Diane Dillon (Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears and Ashanti to Zulu: African Traditions) have joined their ingenious artwork with the magic of Margaret Wise Brown's words. Brown, beloved author of Goodnight Moon, wrote Two Little Trains more than 50 years ago. Now a new generation of the youngest readers will be filled with wonder at this timeless story with its splendid new illustrations.

Two trains are heading west. One is streamlined, the other small and old. On their parallel journeys, the trains encounter rivers, hills, snow, and dust storms, but neither is thwarted. But look closer and see that these two trains, though similar in many ways, have a surprising difference: one is the real thing, traversing the countryside, and the other is a toy, making its way across rug fringe "tracks," along the edge of a bathtub, through a tunnel made from a book, and past a broom and dust pan. Brown's brilliant yet simple text and the Dillons' clever and striking pictures, will serve as inspiration to many flights of fancy in young readers' minds. Truly exquisite. (Ages 3 to 6) --Emilie Coulter --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly
Two-time Caldecott Medalists Leo and Diane Dillon team up with Margaret Wise Brown in Two Little Trains, first published in 1949. Right from the cover, the sleek, horizontal illustrations chronicle the parallel journeys of the titular trains: a toy train wrapped in a gift box waits on the platform next to a massive modern train. "One little train was a streamlined train,/ Puff, Puff, Puff to the West./ One little train was a little old train,/ Chug, Chug, Chug going West." In one spread, the trains look down at the "deep dark river." The streamlined train races across a purple bridge while, opposite, the toy train crawls along the edge of a bathtub, the purple soap and tub basin connecting the tub scene to that of the locomotive.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (September 23, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0064435687
• ISBN-13: 978-0064435680
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.3 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #38,312 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars They'll be coming round the mountain when they come, November 14, 2004

By	E. R. Bird "Ramseelbird" (Manhattan, NY) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Two Little Trains (Hardcover)

When I became a children's librarian there were certain kid obsessions I was expecting. I expected kids to request books about dinosaurs, and unicorns, and magic. What I didn't expect was the overwhelming amount of books requested regarding trains. I thought the love of trains was long past and that kids would have forgotten their shiny chugging ways. But with the popularity of things like "The Polar Express" and "Harry Potter", trains are getting rediscovered all the time. That means any book, picture or otherwise, that capitalizes on this is going to be a hit. There is an abudance of poorly written train fare out there. Then you stumble across something like Margaret Wise Brown's, "Two Little Trains" which was recently reillustrated by the talented Leo and Diane Dillon. It's not only well-written but remarkably beautiful. Any and every young train enthusiast should pluck it up forthwith.

Unlike many picture books, the story told by this one begins on the cover. As we look at this book we see a beautiful sleek silver train resting in a station. Beside it, alongside the track, sit two packed bags and a wrapped present of a toy train. By the time you read the title page the present has been opened (presumably by small hands) and the little train sits silently on the floor awaiting play. Then the words begin. "Two little trains went down the track/ Two little trains went West". On the left hand page sits the grand old silvery sleek train, gearing up to leave the station. On the right hand page you can just barely make out the little toy train as it sits beneath a kitchen chair, readying itself for its journey as well. As the big adult train travels through the countryside, the little toy train does the same, only on a much smaller scale. So when the big train goes through a mountainous tunnel, the little one passes under a propped up book that's entitled "Hills". When the big one goes over a river, the little one rides over the edge of a full bath. Rain on the big train? A bathroom shower on the little one. It continues in this fashion until at last the two trains reach their destinations when, "They had come to the edge of the West".

Widely regarded children's author Margaret Wise Brown originally wrote this story in 1949, possibly with a completely different vision of how it would play out. After all, the text never says that one train is real and that the other a toy. Instead it says that one train was a "streamlined train" and that the other was, "a little old train". So presumably (and I haven't seen the original so I can't really attest to this) this was supposed to be a story about the old and the new trains of the world. Instead, illustrators Leo and Diane Dillon have given the book an entirely new life. The original words by Brown are just as catchy and interesting as they ever were. Incredibly enough, they have not aged. But the pictures are what really give you pause.

Everything in this book is given a kind of rounded sheen in this story. Each surface is deep and clearly delineated. Some of the simplest objects you might find in a home are present here. The Dillons have placed this book in a time that could be anything from 1949 to 2005. Certainly the toys in the child's house are a little old-fashioned, but they're also timeless. There's a bouncy ball, a teddy bear, and a rubber duck. The toy train itself is made of colorful blocks of wood, not something plastic or breakable. The streamlined train appears to be placed in a contemporary world (it's super-sleek) but again there aren't any landmarks that make this clear. Just the usual bridges, cities, and countrysides. I liked the Dillons' choice to never show the child that is playing with the little train. Instead, we occasionally see a rubber ducky noting the toy's progress as it navigates difficult slopes and wet spots. At the end of the story, the little train rests beside a child's bed, the kid in it asleep and turned away from us. We don't even know if it's a boy or a girl, and that's a wonderful thing.

Usually I think that reillustrating old classic picture books is a dangerous occupation. Would you countenance someone drawing new illustrations for "Where the Wild Things Are" or "Millions of Cats"? Of course you wouldn't. But in cases where the original book is forgotten (possibly rightly) I've no qualms about the process in the least. The Dillons have done a remarkable job here, one that I've no doubt will remain a favorite in children's homes for years and years to come. If you want a picture book for your kids that is catchy and bouncy, accompanied by illustrations that never grow old AND that your child will probably adore reading again and again... give "Two Little Trains" a try. A beautiful new interpretation.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars That long steel track to the West..., October 19, 2001

By	Jennifer M. Macleod "yiddishe supermama" (Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Two Little Trains (Hardcover)

This sweet and innocent book weaves the parallel stories of two "little" trains, one real and one a toy. There isn't really a story here, just the moving poem which draws parallels between the real and the toy train -- illustrated with vintage simplicity, in muted colours, by the Dillons.

The trains travel up hills and through tunnels, but always with their goal in mind. The toy train's mission is just as important as the big one, and though "professional" reviewers have quibbled with the absence of a child pushing the toy, I see that as a plus -- when a child plays trains, he is not the engineer or a passenger, but the unseen "deus ex machina."

I suspect this is one of those books that I enjoy more than my kids (5 and 6); they didn't quite "get it", at first, and though my son is interested in trains, this book isn't really about trains in the sense that he enjoys. Though the parallels might be lost on younger children, that age group would probably respond better to the images of trains and scenery -- real and domestic -- that are so eloquently depicted in this book.

ALSO...If your kids like this book, check out Burl Ives' album, "A Twinkle in your Eye," which has a lovely sung/spoken version of this book's verse:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000062EA/

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For Train Lovers Everywhere..., May 23, 2001

By	Roz Levine (Virginia) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Two Little Trains (Hardcover)

"Two little trains went down the track. Two little trains went west." So begins Margaret Wise Brown's story. One train is new and streamlined, the other old and slow, as they both make their way west, across rivers and hills, through rain and snow..... Ms Brown's gentle text is quiet and soothing and takes on the rhythm and cadence of a moving train. Her simple story is beautifully complimented by Leo and Diane Dillon's clever and detailed illustrations. Each two page spread shows the new powerful train on the left page, traveling across the country and the old toy train on the right, traveling through the house on its own imaginary journey. As the new train crosses a bridge over the river, the toy train chugs along the rim of the bathtub. As the new train climbs a mountain, the toy train climbs the stair railing. And, as the new train passes through a rain shower, water from the bathroom showerhead rains down on the old train... Though written in 1949, the text and artwork are as innovative and inspiring today as they were over fifty years ago. Perfect for pre-schoolers, Two Little Trains is sure to become a family favorite and like Ms Brown's classic, Goodnight Moon, a must read at bedtime.