Train by Elisha Cooper (review)

Now arriving at Dewey number 385—the latest Cooper picture-book evocation of cool stuff for kids to explore. This time the topic is trains, and we start with a mad dash to the commuter train, just as the conductor calls, "All aboard!" Passengers relax, tickets are punched, the city morphs into small towns just outside the train window. A faster, bigger train blitzes by—a passenger train headed much farther afield to another large city. As passengers alight at the cavernous station, a freight train is being loaded across the rail yard, and soon it's hauling its load across the prairie, where an overnight train zips by on the opposite track. This ride features a dining car, fold-down beds, "little sink, little shower. Everything little." As passengers enjoy their breakfast, a high-speed train streaks by with a "Schwooosshhh" and eases into its west coast destination, a curvilinear terminus worthy of such a modern marvel. Just the mention of a train sets sight and sound senses on high alert, and Cooper maximizes the effect with the horizontal sweep of elongated double-page spreads and the onomatopoetic thunks, chatters, and da dum da dums of wheels on rails. He really delves into the train experience with reference to the quirks and rituals of rail riding: the "Tickets, please" of the conductor, the whispered cell-phone conversations, the garbled announcement "We are arriving at Ghblighrrfzze." Cooper includes a glossary, complete with commentary ("Food eaten on a train tastes better. That's a fact"), and, even better, a brief note on the real and imaginary stations that inspired his artwork. Kids who gaze hopefully into passing engines while pulling a make-believe train horn will clamor to hear this book. Again and again. And again.