The Silver Arrow by Lev Grossman (review)

For Kate's eleventh birthday, she begs her rich, elusive uncle Herbert for a special present, and he certainly delivers—overnight, a steam engine appears in her yard, emblazoned with the name The Silver Arrow. As Kate and her nine-year-old brother, Tom, board the train and become its conductors, Uncle Herbert helps them add magical cars—candy cars, a swimming pool car, a library car—and the two discover the passengers will be talking animals who use the train to migrate. The train takes them underwater, through the desert, and into the clouds as Kate and Tom get to know the animals and their stories and the train types out sassy quips as they come across obstacles. There's an old-fashioned charm to its narration, which recalls the whimsy of A. A. Milne, but an environmental theme emerges as it turns out the animals are displaced because of deforestation, global warming, and introduction of invasive species. Grossman, of the adult best-seller The Magicians, crafts a tale with an old-timey feel, imbuing much love into his train, magic, and cleverly placed zoological factoids. While the theme is at occasional risk of becoming cheesy, it's more often cheerfully informational and quirkily delivered. Fans of classic talkinganimal tales such as the Chronicles of Narnia will want to pick up a copy. Final editions will include illustrations.