Locomotive

Locomotive

Floca, Brian. Locomotive. New York: Antheneum Books for Young Readers, 2013. ISBN 9781416994152

Summary:

Travel along the Pacific Railroad in 1869 from Omaha, Nebraska to Sacramento, California while enjoying Locomotive. This is the tale of the first steam engines that traveled through the prairies, to the Great Plains, on the frontier, up among mountains, across rickety bridges, among a land of dust, over stone, under the summit, and on home westward. Along your journey, you’ll meet many of the important people keeping the train on track and the engine moving. You’ll experience all of the sights and sounds in and around the Locomotive. Be sure to take some time to stop along the way to enjoy a meal or take a nap. Eventually, you’ll reach the Pacific … a new place to call home. Whooo! Whooo! Whoo! Hisssss …

Analysis:

Locomotive is a beautiful account of the travels and expansion of the Pacific Railroad across the United States. As you enjoy this tale, you’ll begin to feel the rhythm in Floca’s words as he carries you across country. The words begin to take on the feel of riding an old steam engine with their rhythm and pattern. In his detailed account, Floca captures the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and feelings of riding along the rails through both his words and illustrations. You feel as if you are a passenger traveling transcontinental.

Throughout the book, Floca emphasizes the railroad sounds by using different fonts to help the onomatopoeia language come alive. There is a great deal of detail in descriptive language and vivid illustrations. The illustrations and text blend beautiful together seamlessly. Brian Floca uses ink pens and watercolors to create his captivating illustrations.

This book is appealing to both the young and old. Young children can simply appreciate the book for the beauty of the illustrations as they tell the story. Adults will enjoy the detailed historical account of the growth of the transcontinental railroad. At the end-pages of the book, the reader will find a nonfictional account of the railroad growth along with other resources for learning more about the historical locomotives. People of all ages will be fascinated and captivated by this literary treasure. So… hop onboard, and enjoy the ride!

Awards and Review Excerpts: 

   - 2014 Caldecott Medal 2014 

   - The Robert F. Sibert Honor Book 

   - 2014 Orbis Pictus Honor 

   - New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Books of 2013 

   - 2013 Parents’ Choice Award for Picture Books 

   - Wall Street Journal Top 10 Children’s Books of 2013

From The New York Times Book Review: “Locomotive is unusual for a picture book in that it is intended to please a fairly wide age group…Older children will appreciate the wealth of detail and history, while younger ones will be entranced by the appropriately chugga-chugga rhythm of Floca's free verse and his abundant use of sound effects.” ~ Brian Handy

From Publishers Weekly: “It’s a magisterial work (even the endpapers command close reading), but always approachable in its artistry and erudition.”

From The Horn Book: “Talk about a youth librarian’s dream come true: a big new book about those ever-popular trains from a bona fide picture-book-nonfiction all-star.”

From The School Library Journal: “Floca proves himself masterful with words, art, and ideas.”

Connections:

Collect and share other books written and/or illustrated by Brian Floca, such as:

   - Moonshot ISBN 9781416950462 

   - Lightship ISBN 9781416924364 

   - The Racecar Alphabet ISBN 9780689850912 

   - Avi’s Poppy Series (Brian Floca illustrated this chapter book series)

Share this article written by Brian Floca about his illustration process: http://www.hbook.com/2014/02/authors-illustrators/studio-views-pen-ink-watercolor-repeat/#_

Collect and share other books about trains and the history of the transcontinental railroad, such as:

   - The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg ISBN 9780544580145 

   - The Transcontinental Railroad by John Perritano ISBN 9780531205853 

   - Ten Mile Day and the Building of the Transcontinental Railroad by Mary Ann Fraser 

            ISBN  9780805047035 

         - Train to Somewhere by Eve Bunting ISBN 9780618040315

Study and compare other early travel adventures and adventurers (i.e. Amelia Earhart, The Wright Brothers, The Titanic, etc.).

Study and play around with prepositional phrases and where trains travel (i.e. on the frontier, through the prairies, etc.). Perhaps extend this to other modes of transportation, too.

Share more onomatopoeia words (i.e. crash, hiss, etc.) and create posters that show the words through text with illustrations and different fonts. Make the word posters “show” how the word sounds.

Play train sounds and have the students listen quietly and image their journey. Play train sounds as you read the story aloud to add another dimension of engagement. Check out Brad McBride’s YouTube.com videos. Here’s a great one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m_avyMjcL8

* Cover image borrowed from http://www.amazon.com

Choo! Choo! All readers aboard!

~ Mandy :)