Seymour Simon's Book of Trains

Bibliography:

Simon, Seymour. 2002. Seymour Simon's Book of Trains. Singapore, Harper Collins Publishers.
ISBN: 0-06-028475-7

Summary:

Seymour Simon takes readers on a trip to explore many different kinds of trains and their uses. Starting with a brief history of trains, readers learn about the different types of trains and train cars, their purposes and how they impact people's lives. Through the use of clear, up-close photographs, readers see the importance of trains and how they effect all people.

Analysis:

Seymour Simon's Book of Trains presents accurate information about the types and functions of trains in photo essay format. The vivid photographs draw reader's interest and support the informational text. Simon begins with an explanation of the birth of trains and continues locomotive exploration by visiting many different types of trains as well as the specific types of train cars and their usage. Each page introduces readers to a new topic and is accompanied by a descriptive photograph that easily stems conversation and further inquiry. Simon's readable text makes difficult details more concrete and meaningful for readers, like when he describes boxcars as looking "like giant shoe boxes on wheels." This informative text can be read aloud or it can be used as a reference source for young children interested in learning more about locomotive transportation. Seymour Simon is a respected name in the non-fiction text field and his presentation of trains is no disappointment. Having been quoted as saying, "Photographs I use in my books have to be accurate, informative, and highly dramatic.", he once again achieves success with the brilliant marriage of photography and informative train text (Vardell, 2008, pg. 250).

Reviews:

"Young trainiacs rejoice! The inimitable author of Seymour Simon's Book of Trucks (2000) offers a companion volume featuring the same sort of huge, bright, sharply focused color photos paired to succinct descriptive and historical commentary. Sandwiched between an attention-grabbing gallery of locomotive headshots and elevated closing views of a pair of crowded rail yards lit by a low sun, the author introduces rolling stock, past and present-from quaint cog railways to state-of-the-art bullet trains, plus an array of freight and tank cars. Simon continues to irritate lazy readers by refusing to caption his pictures; instead, he alludes to them in the accompanying text, adding anecdotes, detail, and background information in typically calm, orderly prose. Detail-lovers might wish to know just which trains they are seeing, and a bibliography or list of Web sites at the end would not have been amiss-but big machinery has never looked better." - Kirkus Reviews (from www.seymoursimon.com)

"Trains and individual freight cars are displayed in glorious full color in this oversized book. Simon offers information on different types of these machines from the earliest steam locomotives to France's TGV, which can reach speeds of 300 miles per hour. The section on freight trains delves into each car from boxcars to the now-obsolete caboose. The sharp pictures cover half of each spread. One small complaint is that while the TGV and Japan's bullet trains are mentioned, they are not pictured. But never mind. Even preschoolers will be drawn in by the large, abundant photographs. Another winner from a popular author." - School Library Journal, Anne Chapman Callaghan, Racine Public Library, WI (from www.seymoursimon.com)

Connections:

•  Research author Seymour Simon:
• www.seymoursimon.com
• http://support.weta.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=40401.0&dlv_id=44184 (interview with author)
• Create an audiobook or informative poster based on train information
• Find an outside expert or authority who works for the train industry to come speak to students about the train industry

Quotation Source:

Vardell, Sylvia M. 2008. Children's Literature In Action: A Librarian's Guide. Westport, CT: Library's Unlimited.