C Is for Caboose
This alphabet book, geared toward the same age group that adores Thomas the Tank Engine, offers fuel to stoke the engines of young railroad buffs. Reflecting the book's primary focus on historical rather than contemporary train travel, the design evokes a scrapbook, featuring mostly small, framed images and mixing retro-style artwork with archival photos and vintage scraps (like old tickets). Some of the entries may seem ho-hum to train enthusiasts--Lforlocomotive,for instance--but others offer colorful, kid-pleasing trivia: children will want to think about how the car-connecting "knuckle coupler"came by its name (it resembles two clasped hands) and will be fascinated by the mobile classrooms, underSforschool car,"for students who didn't have schools in their hometowns." Several entries stretch to connect to the train theme, and the absence of dates and descriptions in the list of image sources is a shame. Notwithstanding such missteps, train-loving browsers will still find plenty of solid material here to savor.Jennifer MattsonCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved