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  • All Aboard!: Passenger Trains around the World
  • Elizabeth Bush
Zimmermann, Karl All Aboard!: Passenger Trains around the World; written and illus. with photographs by Karl Zimmermann. Boyds Mills, 2006 [48p] ISBN 1-59078-325-5$19.95 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 4-8

In this account of Young's own family life, narrator Antonia, who was herself adopted from China, decides she wants a younger sister, or Mei Mei. When her parents eventually decide to adopt another little girl, Antonia is initially thrilled but ultimately disappointed, as the infant isn't the playmate she had hoped, and in fact "took all the attention away from me." Inevitably, Antonia mellows, the baby grows, and the two become close; as the tale ends, the two girls approach their parents with the request for a new younger sibling. This is an interesting variation on dethronement stories, and the spare text succeeds in capturing the singular focus of Antonia's longing for a sibling as well as her initial disappointment with the lackluster newcomer. The tale is so individual to Young's family, however, that audiences are sometimes left out; turns of phrase that may be family tradition are confusing here ("When I was half, I joined Mommy and Baba"), and there's no explanation for the baby's need for extra professional help ("A teacher came to show her how to crawl and walk"). Young uses mixed media to illustrate this deeply personal tale, incorporating a combination of cut paper, gouache, and pastel. He is most successful with paintbrush and crayon, and the portraits of his family members, composed in soft brushstrokes and delicate line, are deftly rendered. The juxtaposition of the soft, smudgy hand drawings with the bold patterns of the cut paper is less graceful; the two styles do not fully mesh, and the resulting combination is at times jarring. Those whose experiences parallel young Antonia's will nevertheless empathize with her dilemma, and fans of Young will be startled and amused by the self-portrait of the author pretending to have his diaper changed by his older daughter. An author's note is included.

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