Image: Lonely Planet Kids · source
Lonely Planet Kids · Mid-range
A lift-the-flap nonfiction book by Clive Gifford, illustrated by James Gulliver Hancock, that takes young readers through the history of trains and around the world's railways.
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The publisher describes a ride from the fastest train to the longest and from the oldest to the newest, through tunnels, across bridges and up mountainsides. Readers unfold pages and lift flaps to reveal bustling stations, old steam locomotives fuelled with coal, and high-speed trains in Japan at almost 400 miles per hour. The book also covers how trains reach the top of mountains, carry people under cities and work beneath the sea, and it includes luxurious journeys: the Trans-Siberian Railway from Moscow to Vladivostok and The Ghan across Australia. The publisher says it was created in consultation with Anthony Coulls, Senior Curator of Rail Transport and Technology at the National Railway Museum in the UK.
The cover on the publisher's page carries the line "loads of flaps to lift" and shows a station with a steam locomotive and two modern trains at numbered platforms. The publisher names it a follow-up to How Cities Work and How Airports Work. The publisher's shop places the book on its 6-8 kids shelf; the page gives no other age range.
Strengths
Weaknesses
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Size | 10.83 x 10 inches |
| Pages | 24 |
| Author | Clive Gifford |
| Edition | North and South America edition, 1st edition |
| ISBN-13 | 9781788683289 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Lonely Planet Kids |
| Illustrator | James Gulliver Hancock |
A parent or relative buying for a child who likes to find out how things work and who would enjoy lifting flaps to see stations, locomotives and long-distance trains. The publisher presents it as a book of facts about trains, from history around the world to high-speed lines today. It is not a story and it has no Christmas theme, so a buyer who wants a seasonal picture book should look elsewhere.
The Big Book of Trains (DK Big Books), in this catalogue, is a 32-page hardcover nonfiction title from DK Children with a publisher age range of 5 to 9, a hardcover alternative. Locomotive, by Brian Floca, in this catalogue, is a 64-page hardcover from Atheneum that won the Caldecott Medal and explores early American railroads, for a buyer who wants a longer book on that subject.
Image: National Geographic (Penguin Random House) · source
National Geographic · Mid-range
A National Geographic hardcover that profiles 100 railway journeys around the world, with notes on when and where to go, which cabins to book and what to see off the train.
Image: Lorenz Books / Simon & Schuster · source
Lorenz Books · Mid-range
A hardcover guide to the golden age of train engines by Colin Garratt, with 700 photographs covering the first designs to modern high-speed trains.
Image: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers · source
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers · Budget
A board book by Kevin Lewis, with pictures by Daniel Kirk, that follows a busy toy steam locomotive through a playroom from sunrise until all its freight has been delivered.
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