Steam Train, Dream Train

Steam Train, Dream Train

by Sherri Duskey Rinker, illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld

A steam train races across the prairie at night. Stopping at Night Falls station, the all-animal crew quickly loads each car with toys, paints, racecars, and frozen sweets. Once loaded, the animals tuck themselves into their beds and go to sleep.

There are many books that depict a train driving through the night, only to finish up with a parting image of a child, reposed in sleep, while the train graces the floor of their bedroom. Steam Train, Dream Train is my absolute favorite of them.

In Steam Train, Dream Train, Sherri Duskey Rinker's beautifully flowing rhymes are complemented by Tom Lichtenheld's richly lustrous pastel drawings. I adore the highly realistic, beautifully shaded pastel work, highlighted by the deep texture of the paper the Tom Lichtenheld was working with. Not only are these drawings jaunty and playful (my son adores the camel loading a boxcar), they're truly fine art. As a final benefit, for those of us who don't know a hopper from a reefer, the name of each train car is rendered in subtly bold text.

Steam Train, Dream Train
by Sherri Duskey Rinker, illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld

Chu's Day

Chu's Day
by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Adam Rex


Chu is a young panda with a fantastic aviator's cap and goggles who lives in a world surrounded by a wide variety of other anthropomorphic animals. He goes about his day visiting the library with his mum and having lunch in a diner with his papa, always on the verge of sneezing. That evening at the circus when his mighty sneeze finally comes, it ravages his town, leaving chaos and mayhem in its wake.

We all know Neil Gaiman from his multiple genre titles, graphic novels, and YA books. He's also a fantastic children's author, telling a simple yet imaginative story in Chu's Day. Gaiman's text is leavened by hilariously realistic, absurdist images of whale short order cooks, porcine clowns, and leonine lion tamers. My son has had this book for over a year and he still falls out of my lap laughing, every time we read it.

Chu's Day, by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Adam Rex