I Saw an Ant on the Railroad Track - Hardcover

Prince, Joshua

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1402721838 ISBN 13: 9781402721830

Publisher: Union Square Kids, 2006

Synopsis

The liveliest rhythm and rhyme, and really cool art, carry children off on a captivating journey along the railroad tracks with a hungry little ant and the gentle giant of a switchman who cares for him.

Well, I saw an ant on the railroad track.
The rail was bright.
The ant was black.
He was walking along, tickety tack.
(That’s the sound of an ant on a railroad track.)

What an entertaining trip this is! Children will delight in the playful and musical language, endearing and uniquely styled illustrations, and wonderfully warm story that make this picture book so special. When switchman Jack, eating lunch by his shack, spies an ant walking along the railroad track, he immediately gets worried: it’s an eastbound ant on the westbound track, and that means a train could run SMACK into the little guy. He knows he has to do something to help... Youngsters will feel gratified and reassured by Jack’s affection for the tiny creature: after all, they—just like the ant—are very small in a big world. And they’ll really love the way the adorable little bug has the smarts to save itself!

About this title

About the Author

Joshua Prince lives in Westport, Connecticut, but rides a train daily to his life as an advertising writer in New York. A brief encounter with an ant at his regular station inspired this book. He is married with three children. I Saw an Ant on a Railroad Track is his first book.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 1–When Switchman Jack sees a black ant strolling down the railroad track in search of a snack, he tries to reroute a 10-ton freight train. However, the switch is stuck, and, just when readers start to worry that there will be an ant-astrophe, the tale takes a turn: that ant.../made a beeline for my brown lunch sack/as the train whooshed by, screaming.../CLICKETY-CLACK! The story builds effectively to a screeching crescendo, but some of the vocabulary, such as ruin to wrack, might stump children. The big, bold color caricatures have a timeless feel, in keeping with the text. Pamintuan uses changing perspectives to draw readers into the plight of the ant as it is confronted by the enormous smoking train. When the ambling insect spies Jack's sandwich on the ground, it gets a determined look in its eye. The folksy rhyme would be most effective as a read-aloud; in the hands of a talented storyteller, the conflict could take on enormous proportions.–Susan E. Murray, Glendale Public Library, AZ
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About this edition

• Publisher: Union Square Kids
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 1402721838
• ISBN 13: 9781402721830
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 24
• Illustrator: Pamintuan Macky