How to Train a Train by Jason Carter Eaton (review)

"This handy guidebook contains everything you need to know to choose, track, and train your very own pet train." So asserts the he pith-helmeted, khaki-clad little guide, who has a steam train on a leash with the dog-tag "Fido" and delivers deadpan directions on how to select and raise a pet train, which, if one substituted the word "dog" for "train," would read pretty much like an actual pet guide. The premise is delightful (though hopefully no listener will try actually to corner a train by standing directly in front of it), and it works particularly well when studying trains in their, shall we say, natural habitats (e.g., coaxing a nervous steam engine across a rickety wooden trestle) or when portraying them hilariously out of their element (leaving muddy track marks on the kitchen floor). One little pet owner, all glitter and pink and fairy wings, names her diesel engine "Sparkles" as its grill frowns in disapproval, while a boy and his teddy bear sit on the cow catcher of his steam engine, reading Ghost Train by the light of its headlamp. Rocco's characteristic art is digitally colored, imbuing it with a slick, almost metallic smoothness while graphite outlines provide solidness and occasional texture; compositions are nicely balanced throughout, with full spreads of Fido, Sparkles, and Smokey allowing viewers to fully appreciate the enormity of by this particular type of pet. Pair this with Elise Broach's When Dinosaurs Came with Everything (BCCB 10/07) for a wacky pets storytime.