Parents' Guide to

Locomotive

By Regan McMahon, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 4+

Gorgeous story of train journey is exciting, fact-packed.

Book Brian Floca Picture Book 2013
Locomotive Poster Image

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What's the Story?

Three members of a family -- mother, daughter, and younger brother -- board a steam train in Omaha, Neb., in 1869 for a ride on the just-built transcontinental railroad, headed for Sacramento, Calif., where they'll join Dad and continue to San Francisco to start a new life. All the sights and sounds are new to them, just as many of the facts about how the tracks and mountain tunnels were built, the multiethnic crews that built them, and the operation of steam trains may be new to young readers.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
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Kids say: Not yet rated

LOCOMOTIVE is a visually dazzling, poetically written, impressively informative picture book. It gives a comprehensive account of what it was like to cross the United States by train in the late 1800s, and is filled with historical facts and detailed watercolor illustrations of everything from how wood and coal fueled the steam engines to how the on-board toilet flushed to what narrow, rickety wooden bridges looked like across steep canyons in the Wild West. Yet by focusing on one family's journey, it becomes a thrilling, relatable human adventure rather than dry textbook material about a long-gone technology. Author-illustrator Brian Floca provides plenty of historical context to underscore what a revelation transcontinental travel was for the people of that era.

In an earth-toned, pastel palette, Floca effectively varies long shots and closeups and uses large-type, all-capital letters for phrases like, "ALL ABOARD!," "FULL STEAM AHEAD!," and the steam whistle's "lonesome cry," "WHOOOOOOO! WHOOOOO! WHOO," to help build excitement. End papers offer a time line and a map of the transcontinental railroad as well as a diagram and explanation of how steam power works. A long Author's Note gives more information, followed by a list of sources for further research.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about trains. Why are toy train and train stories so popular with kids? What other train stories have you read or seen in movies or on TV?

  • What are some of the things you learned about steam trains and train travel in the 1800s from Locomotive?

  • How is train travel different today from it was in the late 1800s, when Locomotive takes place?

Book Details

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