Chugga-Chugga Choo-Choo

Chugga-Chugga Choo-Choo

Author: Kevin Lewis

Illustrator: Daniel Kirk

Published: 1999

 

Chugga-Chugga Choo-Choo is one of the best train stories I have come across. My son loves it and it is so fun to read. You get to follow a train’s day from the moment the conductor wakes up and loads the freight to unloading and going to bed. The train goes through valleys, tunnels, across bridges, and around mountains until it reaches its final destination.

I love that the illustrations, rendered in oil paints over sand and plaster, are so vibrant and cheery using primary colors. The pictures look like children’s toys and blocks because that is exactly what they are. By the end of the story you realize that this whole train setup was created by a little boy playing with his trains. I just love the creativity and imagination this book provides. After reading, children will be excited to create their own railroad system. I also love how many toys are in each picture. Children will enjoy finding their favorite toys within the pictures including dolls, stuffed animals, blocks, and my son’s favorite is the robot.

The text is what makes this one of my favorite books! It tells such a great story using rhyme and the repetition of “chugga-chugga choo-choo” and “whoo-whoo”. Children will love participating in the story by shouting “whoo-whoo”! It is also a simple and quick read, and this is one of those stories that you will read so often you will have it memorized! I know I have read this about a hundred times and my son is only 2! It is one of the few books where the entirety of the text rhymes so well that it flows perfectly and creates such a memorable story. I highly recommend this book to anyone 1 and older, but would also be acceptable for younger children as well. It may be one of those books you can have around from the time your child is born.