Magic Train Ride
PreSchool-K-A train begins its journey with two children, an octopus, a Martian, a tiger, and a gingerbread boy among its passengers. It travels to the jungle, underwater, to outer space, to a land of cakes, etc. At each station, one of the passengers disembarks and a new child boards. By the end of the trip, all of the animals and magical creatures have been deposited in their proper settings and the remaining riders are now children returning from magical jaunts. The rhymed text offers few surprises and is extremely repetitive. Esplugas's multimedia art has many fun details that children will enjoy exploring in full spreads, but an odd color scheme gives some of the landscapes a dull look. While the author and illustrator have hit upon an idea that will fascinate youngsters, this excursion lacks the magic it needs to really take off. For train-obsessed youngsters, stick with Kevin Lewis'sChugga-Chugga Choo-Choo(Hyperion, 1999).-Rachel G. Payne, Brooklyn Public Library, NYCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.