Product Description

Set in the mountains outside of Denver, a shivery tale about a train that is saved from certain disaster by the ghosts of a previous wreck. "A lively picture book set in 1929. . . . More suspenseful than scary, this title should appeal to kids who enjoy stories about trains and ghosts." -- School Library Journal

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1174488 in Books
• Published on: 1996-09-20
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 32 pages

From Publishers Weekly
THE BANSHEE TRAIN Odds Bodkin, illus. by Ted Rose. Clarion, $5.95 ISBN 0-395-79722-5. PW said that "eeriness and danger permeate this spectral tale" of a train carrying ghostly passengers in 1929 Colorado. Ages 5-8.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3?A lively picture book set in 1929. While heading through Colorado on a foggy night, the engineer and fireman of Train Number 1 notice some unusual occurrences. First, the throttle swings off all by itself. After the engine resumes speed, a mysterious locomotive appears on the tracks behind them, and they must travel at full speed to avoid a collision. Just before they reach Gore Canyon Trestle, Number 1 comes to a sudden halt. Then the men hear "...an unearthly shriek" and see the ghostly head of a banshee rising from the train behind them, which disappears. The men discover that Gore Canyon Trestle is completely gone; the banshee saved them from certain death. The story is well paced, leading up to its dramatic climax smoothly and surely. Railroad terms are nicely interwoven throughout, and dialogue and description move the tale along briskly. Double-page watercolors capture the motion and color of the trains and the mountainous terrain. They don't show much of the two men, but the narrative conveys their emotions and excitement. An author's note briefly explains the background of the banshee and the role of Irish immigrants in working on American railroads. More suspenseful than scary, this title should appeal to kids who enjoy stories about trains and ghosts.?Steven Engelfried, West Linn Public Library, OR
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Ages 6^-9. Running Train Number 1 west from Denver in 1929, engineer Mercer remembers tales of a wreck that occurred when the Gore Canyon Trestle washed out 100 years earlier, and he vows to check out the trestle before attempting to cross the canyon. Soon, Mercer and his fireman O'Reilly are forced to run at full speed to avoid colliding with a mysterious train behind them. Just before they reach the canyon, their train suddenly stops, and they hear the wail of "the Banshee," as the ghostly train behind Number 1 overtakes it and plunges into the cavern just beyond. Bodkin, a professional storyteller, builds suspense as the train picks up speed, and Rose contributes a series of attractive watercolor paintings of trains and landscapes stretching across the double-page spreads. Don't purchase this for preschool train fans, though. Despite the picture-book format, there's nothing particularly childlike in the approach of writer or artist. For larger collections. Carolyn Phelan

Customer Reviews

Scary, terrifying story for a young child.
The story still gives me chills after reading it a few times. After I explained to him what it was about, my 6 year old asked me to read it to him anyway, and he was so scared he couldn't go to sleep afterward. It is well written, with quality artwork, but I would recommend it for older kids who enjoy ghost stories, rather than young pre-readers. Even with a happy ending, the Banshee legend is a scary, creepy image. A full passenger train being chased to certain death by a reckless runaway passenger train behind it is terrifying beyond words, even if (or especially if) the pursuer turns out to be a spector.

A hair-raising tale
My daughter says that this book "absolutely creeped me out" when she was young. Which is saying something, because she read a lot of scary books as a child. And it still makes my scalp crawl just thinking about it sometimes.

The late Ted Rose was one of the country's great railroad artists. I originally bought this book for the illustrations, and I was not disappointed. The story itself is good, even though Odds Bodkin's narrative style seems somewhat pedestrian when written down. But Ted Rose's illustrations are superb, even if he had some trouble rendering people.

P.S.: I think the red-bearded fireman in the pictures is supposed to be Bodkin himself.