Full Steam Ahead - Hardcover

Kindergarten-Grade 3-Told in the first person by an ambitious farm boy who yearns to be an engineer someday, Gibbons's homespun story relates the excitement that grips rural Turkey Creek, GA, when a steam locomotive barrels through town for the first time. The narrative is lean on plot but heavy on atmosphere, using onomatopoeia and regional colloquialisms to good effect; the train approaches with a deafening "schoof-schoof" sound, and the "young 'uns" run to meet it. Today's readers may not grasp how the arrival of a train ever generated so much excitement. Additionally, the characterization and dialogue are somewhat stereotypical and stilted. Meidell's illustrations feature muted hues and sun-splashed, expressive faces. In each image, everything from the red Georgia clay to the hot summer sky is baked bone-dry. This is an adequate treatment of an ever-popular subject. Purchase this one to answer that demand.
Catherine Threadgill, Charleston County Public Library, SC
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ages 5-8. A genuine steam locomotive is coming to Turkey Creek, Georgia; it's the first train to roll through that neck of the woods. Sammy and his family are hoeing when Grandpa brings the news. Sammy hops in Grandpa's wagon, and they spread the word to folks around the countryside. Suddenly, they hear the whistle, and it's too late to head back to meet it. But Grandpa knows a shortcut to the track, and luckily, the train has stopped at a water tower. Sammy is amazed at what he sees: the train is as "big as the world . . . [and] it smelled like a dream come true." Meidell's expressive, richly textured watercolors capture the joy of the close-knit community and the thrill of the event, and Gibbons' storytelling keeps readers right on track; her pacing and authentic language places young listeners smack in the old-time, rural South. Kids will cheer when Sammy and Grandpa climb aboard for the ride of their lives. Shelley Townsend-Hudson
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