Freight Train

By Donald Crews (1978)

Recommended age: 0-2 years old

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Review

This a fantastic book. I cannot even guess at how many times we read it.

The book, story and illustrations are simple, but I think that's what makes it so fantastic. There’s no clutter, no distractions, and what is left for little eyes to focus on is the value of the book. While on the surface it’s about a freight train that takes a trip, it’s actually a perfect book to teach little little ones colors, including light and dark. And depending on how nerdy the reader is, you can even teach a little one about trains or the vast geographic diversity of America or even teach some economics, like how America’s vast transportation infrastructure for goods is one of the pillars that makes the US economy so strong. My little one definitely asked about and after a couple times now knows what a trestle is.

The illustrations are stylized, simple and minimal. They’re not very realistic, more geometric with true, bold colors. With the illustrations done in this manner, the book holds the attention of little little ones extremely well.  

We couldn’t recommend this one more for little little ones. We’ve owned this one for several years and still read it for entertainment even as my little one has gotten older. Several years after the first time we read it, this book still comes up when we get stopped at train tracks.

We actually love this one so much we just donated a whole bunch of these to a non-profit, www.bellajoy.org, that gives support to little ones in foster care.  

Cautions

Absolutely none.