Big Book Of Trains
Gr. 3^-5, younger for reading aloud. The gigantic format is totally appropriate for this book about the huge, powerful, rushing trains that transport people and freight by steam, diesel, and electricity on rails around the world. In the usual DK photo-essay style, with great, big, free-standing, close-up photographs in full color and sharp detail, there are more than 50 trains, from the early steam locomotives in England and the U.S. to today's high-speed bullet trains and monorails, with a dramatic center foldout featuring the Channel Tunnel and the high-speed trains that travel on land and under the sea. In each case, there are captions and small chunks of information about size, weight, stations, tracks, speed, mileage, maintenance, etc., with special focus on the roles of human drivers and computers. The facts are as exciting as the pictures, and the sturdy, inexpensive hardcover book will stand up to the heavy use it will get from readers who want to pore over the details.Hazel Rochman