Diane Siebert is the author of Mojave, a 1988 Booklist Children’s Editors’ Choice, a 1988 Notable Children’s Trade Book in Social Studies, and a 1989 Teachers Choice, and Heartland , a 1989 Booklist Children’s Editors’ Choice, a 1989 Notable Children’s Trade Book in Social Studies, and a 1990 Notable Children’s Book in the Language Arts. Ms. Siebert lives at Crooked River Ranch, Oregon.
In the relentless rhythm of the rolling wheel, this book revels in the movement, sights, and sounds of train transport. Place names (Buffalo, Abilene, Seattle, North Platte) punctuate the short, punchy lines that propel listeners effectively, if somewhat mechanically, through the detailed description of freight and passenger trains, with their various cars, conductors, and engineers. The rhyme and rhythm will appeal to children, but the pictures are sure to persuade adults to sign on for a nostalgic ride through the past. Wimmer celebrates the bygone elegance of dining cars and the charm of vernacular architecture. A close look at his realistic paintings reveals the fluid brushwork and impressionistic use of reflected color carried by light: the steel rails reflect the sky, shadows are multicolor conjunctions. And the artist gains maximum mileage from layout. From the opening page, in which the train appears as a detail through the mesh of a screen door, Wimmer balances the predictable with the unexpected. Much of the drama is provided by the (generally low) viewpoint, or by the effective juxtaposition of close-up and distant views. Many children are loco about locomotives; if this book doesn't offer engine specs, it certainly tenders a paean to the romance of the railroad. --Patricia Dooley, University of Washington, Seattle
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.