Skip to main content

Locomotive

By


Locomotive
by Brian Floca
Atheneum, 2013.  Unpaged.  Picture Book

     Brian Floca is already one of the greatest living illustrator's of children's books, but he has outdone even himself in this new historical picture book about the transcontinental railroad. Floca conveys a boatload (or should I say "coal car") of factual information about the railroad on the end papers, and in an appendix at the end of the book. He conveys an entirely different sort of information in the text and pictures in the book itself. Different fonts and type sizes accurately recreate the sounds and motion of a steam locomotive. The landscape, particularly through the Utah territory (Devil's Slide, in Weber Canyon; Pulpit Rock in Echo Canyon), is striking and evocative, especially the night scenes. Floca skillfully combines art and science to recreate the Romance of the Rails. He draws and labels the physical components of the locomotive, shows what might happen if the boiler runs out of water (KA-BOOM!), or the train takes a curve too swiftly, or starts up too rapidly. What a great book for kids who like trains, American history, the West, or all of them rolled together into a glorious whole.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dude, That's Rude! (Get Some Manners) by Pamela Espeland & Elizabeth Verdick

By
If there's one book today's kids need to read, it is Dude, That's Rude! (Get Some Manners) . The authors provide a fun format for teaching etiquette to children. They discuss proper behavior at home, at school, at other people's homes and in public places. The information is completely up-to-date with cellphone manners and netiquette included. Fun, cartoony illustrations are on practically every page giving the book great visual appeal. This book is perfect for boys and girls in the fourth grade or older. WARNING: Bodily functions are discussed.
Post a Comment
Read more

Funny Farm by Mark Teague 2009

By Anonymous
There are things I liked about Mark Teague's newest book, Funny Farm , and things I didn't like. Where should I start? I'll do the "didn'ts" first. The illustrations show animals personified. Well, some of the animals are. The main characters, Edward, and his farm family relatives, all dogs, are humanized. They stand upright, do farm chores, eat at a table, wear clothes, knit (yes, with paws) and sleep in beds. Most everybody else on and around the farm, who are also animals, act like animals. They are outside, roll in mud, live in the barn, and require care from their owners. It struck me the most on the page spread where there are pigs playing in puddle in the rain and Edward, a black and white boxer, watches from inside the house. I thought "You're a dog! Go play with them!" But, alas, he can't, seeing as how he goes through his entire visit to the farm wearing a suit and red bow tie. Another picture that bothered me was the maple syrup pa...
Post a Comment
Read more

Faces of the Moon by Bob Crelin

By loo
Faces of the Moon by Bob Crelin Illustrated by Leslie Evans Charlesburg; 2009; unpaged Faces of the Moon is a short nonfiction book that describes the different phases of the moon and why the moon appears like it does on certain nights. This book is short and sweet so even the youngest of moon lovers will enjoy it. The layout is simplistic and easy to follow. I don’t know much about the moon so I found it very interesting.
Post a Comment
Read more