Product Description

"All who have succumbed to the allure of the railroad will be stopped in their own tracks by this eye-filling, show-stopping debut showcase." — KIRKUS REVIEWS (starred review)

Start with a vintage poem by Philip Booth, whose rhythms recall the cadence of a moving freight train. Pair it with detailed realistic paintings by Bagram Ibatoulline that masterfully and dramatically capture an American freight train in its heyday, along with all the small-town denizens who stop to watch its crossing. What you have is a majestic picture book that will enthrall train enthusiasts of all ages and delight anyone who appreciates a heady dose of nostalgia.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #421657 in Books
• Published on: 2004-08-19
• Released on: 2004-08-19
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 40 pages

Amazon.com Review
It's one of childhood's most time-honored pursuits: counting cars while waiting at a train crossing. Celebrated poet Philip Booth has captured its appeal and unmistakable cadence with precision and wit, backed by the vibrant, nostalgic illustrations of Moscow-trained first-timer Bagram Ibatoulline.

The poem "Crossing" first appeared in Booth's 1957 debut collection, Letters from a Distant Land, so parents and grandparents might have an easier time than kids recognizing some of these freight carriers: "B&M boxcar, / boxcar again, / Frisco gondola, / eight-nine-ten, /Erie and Wabash, Seaboard, U.P., / Pennsy tankcar, twenty-two, three." But the rhythms remain the same, and even if the automobiles stopped at the crossing look like they hail from Havana, kids still won't be able to keep from counting the tankers and boxcars on this old-time steam engine.

Booth still lives in his childhood home, and he's clearly hung onto that wide-eyed perspective in his fast, loose language. Lucky for us it's been preserved and revived--and even enriched, thanks to Ibatoulline--in this sweet and well-executed adaptation. (Ages 4 to 8) --Paul Hughes

From Publishers Weekly
This pairing of Booth's nearly 50-year-old poem (originally published in Letter from a Distant Land) with the exceedingly lifelike gouache paintings of first-time illustrator Ibatoulline is right on track. The artist in style and treatment resembles a Norman Rockwell, but his more painterly approach exudes emotion. He firmly places readers at a rural rail crossing (based on a real one in Brunswick, Maine) as a freight train barrels past. Booth's lyric verse ably suggests the rhythm of the moving boxcars: "Warning whistle, bellclang,/ engine eating steam,/ engineer waving,/ a fast-freight dream." Italicized numbers interspersed throughout the poem keep track intermittently of the trains 100 cars: "fifty-nine, sixty,/ hoppers of coke,/ Anaconda copper,/ hotbox smoke." As Booth introduces a veritable railroad lexicon, Russian-born Ibatoulline treats readers to 16 different angles of the same crossing and creates a sense of the mid-20th-century community through which the train briefly passes. The opening spread presents a bird's-eye view of the railroad junction with only smoke preceding the train in the distance. A few pages later, the artist shows the iron behemoth from a child's vantage, as a boy waves up to the cheery conductor. One entire painting is the reflection of two boxcars in a waiting car's windshield. A group of friends, separated by the train and seen waving through its couplings, unite after the train departs. This slice of Americana is sure to chug full steam ahead into the hearts of train enthusiasts young and old. Ages 5-9.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
reS-Gr 4-Breathtakingly vivid gouache illustrations reminiscent of Norman Rockwell's work will draw children into this nostalgic poem about freight trains. "STOP LOOK LISTEN" is boldly printed across the first spread, a landscape of trees and grass with a close-up view of a railroad crossing. The eye follows the track to reveal thick billows of steam and smoke just beyond a curve in the background. Anticipation builds as, on the next spread, an old-fashioned, black steam engine appears. Readers will be amazed by its beauty when it pulls into the station. The gate comes down, the whistle blows, the bell clangs, and the engineer waves. The large-print text runs along the bottom of the page. The freight cars are named, and where they originated, as they roll by, "B&M boxcar,/-Frisco gondola,/-Erie and Wabash-." Children look at cars filled with coal, period automobiles, and cattle that seem real enough to touch. Then, as the engine puffs out smoke, the 100 cars circle toward a distant tunnel. The caboose passes, and everyday life resumes. This book captures a magnificent piece of American industrial and small-town history. It is excellent for reading independently or teamed with Donald Crews's Freight Train (Greenwillow, 1978) for a winning program.

Wanda Meyers-Hines, Ridgecrest Elementary School, Huntsville, AL

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Captivating illustrations
My two year old son is nuts for trains. This book is beautifully illustrated and the poem is a wonderful change from the usual toddler book prose. My son and I like this book so much that I have taken the time to write a review! You will be glad you added this one to your child's library.

feel like your going on a train trip
The cover illustrations of crossings is a realistic watercolor of a huge engine in black against a dark night sky. A red and white crossings bar around the cover makes you feel like your waiting for the train to pass the whistle beckoning you to jump aboard.

The issustrations inside are beautifully orchestrated watercolors. Some pages bleed, some pages have a white frame around them, all are authentic looking old fashioned trains. Even the passenger cars waiting for the train to cross are reminiscent of a small twon a long time ago.

Each page is devoted to a different car; box car, gondola, "tank", and a freight car with a caboose bringing up the rear. Children can practice counting the cars as they pass and the rhyming words take on the rhytmic chugging of a train. Each car has a different product inside. While reading the book aloud,the reader feels himself catching the rhythm of the train.

Anyone who loves trains will find this book inviting. My class loved it at story time and I plan to leave it in the book area when we do transportation.

Amazing illustrations!
I was so sad to see someone describe this book as "boring"! The incredible illustrations spark the imagination. My son loves the boys who can suddenly see each other over the short gondola car, the page where the children bend down and wave to each other under the train, the woman who makes the "ohmygoodness" face at the cow leaning out of the cattle car...we love this book because there is something to talk about on every page. It's our favorite bedtime story.