Locomotive

There’s something about mighty trains that children adore. Brian Floca’s extraordinary nonfiction book, “Locomotive,” delves into the beginnings of America’s early railroads with 64 stunning pages of beautiful watercolor illustrations and storybook details packed with information for growing minds. It tells the story of a family’s 1869 journey across America on the brand-new transcontinental railroad. There are many technical details about 19th-century railroading, which will interest older audiences, but younger audiences will delight in Floca’s use of sound effects: the “chugga-chugga” engine and the “hisssssssss and the spit of the steam!” A story about the transcontinental express, which changed everything for America, and recounts history in such a rich format as this is truly unique.   Ages 4-10; hardcover; 64 pages. Note: train toy sold separately