Choo-Choo School

June 1, 2020
Train cars attend their own school and learn their lessons. Much of their day will be familiar to young readers just getting used to school: The principal tells them not to race in the "haul-way," they practice the classroom rules and study subjects such as math, gym, music, and the alphabet. But everything is attuned to trains: "In gym we practice climbing. / We work together as a team. // 'Chugga-chugga-choo YAHOO!' / It feels good to blow off steam." Tank Car shares juice with them after all that exercise, and Diner tells jokes during lunch. Caboose likes to sit in the back, and Sleeper "dozes off in class." A quick toot wakes him up. Rosenthal's rhythms and rhymes make for a smooth read-aloud, though observant readers may notice some disconnects between the text and the illustrations, especially whenever the context leads readers to believe the cars will be linked together in a train; the illustrations never show them connected, and readers will question how the cars that aren't engines are locomoting. Among the faculty, three seem to be white and two people of color. For budding railroad enthusiasts. (Picture book. 3-7)

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May 1, 2020
Preschool-G It's all aboard for back-to-school with an entertaining group of young train cars. In a train-shed school building, human teachers dressed as engineers and the station-master principal welcome small versions of an engine, caboose, and other cars. Diner is a curtained car with an elegant pencil mustache. Flatcar carries cargo that includes books, a pencil, and glue. Boxcar has tissues, Tank Car is full of juice, and don't forget Sleeper at rest time. Brightly colored cartoon-style digital illustrations portray this crew as a fun-loving class, eager to learn many of the same things young children would study. Their day includes going over classroom rules, learning the alphabet and numbers, gym, snack, lunch, and music. The rhyming text features clever wordplay. One teacher keeps his students "on track" as they work to "train their minds." When they are thinking, their "wheels are turning"; racing down a hill, "it feels good to blow off steam." This appealing story is a terrific choice to read at the beginning of a school year, or anytime for train-loving children.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)