Locomotive by Brian Floca is a completely marvelous invitation into the romance of trains, how they work, and why they matter. Floca uses lively and lovely illustration to draw the child in and pairs it with a metered narrative that is delicious to read aloud and exciting to listen to. Teaching the entire time, it is not hard to assume that Floca was one of those little boys who spent countless delight-filled hours with his toy trains.

”Here is a road 
made for crossing the country, 
a new road of rails 
for people to ride. 
Here is how this road was built, 
with a grunt and a heave and a swing, 
with the ring of shovels on stone, 
the ring of hammers on spikes: 
CLANK CLANK CLANK! 

Men came from far away
to build from the East, 
to build from the West, 
to meet in the middle.

They cleared the rocks
and dug the tunnels.
They raised hammers
and brought them down—
‘Three strokes to the spike,
ten spikes to the rail!’
CLANK CLANK CLANK

First Floca builds the railroad, then he brings us to the first station on the line where a family is waiting to get on.

”The iron horse, the great machine!
Fifty feet and forty tons,
wheels spinning, rods swinging,
motion within motion, running down the track!”

We watch the train pull into the station. We hear the sounds she makes, we take in the greatness of her size and strength. 

Once we board the train he takes us through it all – from the engineer and coal man, through the various cars, and he even shows us how the train toilet works. Somewhat reminiscent of a David Macaulay book, this tour of everything train-related would not only delight but also, tickle the brain of curious readers who want to know everything real. 

After we have toured the train and taken notice of the landscape we are racing past, our train travels through a mountain tunnel, and we learn that granite was “drilled and blasted. Here black powder and nitroglycerin Boomed!”

This marvelous book is a favorite in my library and I confess that it is a favorite of mine too. Perfect for curious kids and little train lovers alike, this one is most worthy of its Caldecott medal. 

If you have train lovers, check out our review of Ain’t Nothing But A Man. Be sure to check out Biblioguides for more information on this and other Caldecott books!