Train by Judi Abbot

Train by Judi Abbot
Buy Train by Judi Abbot at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: For Sharing
Reviewer: Sam Tyler
Summary: All aboard Train, a fun and colourful book all about learning new things and daft tongue twisters.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 28	Date: March 2015
Publisher: Tiger Tales
ISBN: 9781589255425
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Kids nowadays have far too many toys to play with; whilst I had to make do with a piece of string tied around a rock, today’s youth have rooms filled with more plastic contraptions than an aging Hollywood Starlet’s cheeks. Even with all this stuff at hand most parents will tell you that their child will still gravitate to a few of their favourite things, ignoring a lot of the other offerings available. Perhaps they have a toy train that they are obsessed by? Train!

Little Elephant loves trains, to the point that we wears a t-shirt that states just this fact and takes a toy train with him everywhere he goes. His mother and father try to engage him in conversation, but all they get in reply is, Train! All is well for Little Elephant, until he meets some other small children who have other ideas; Digger! Plane! What will happen when Little Elephant is introduced to new concepts?

Train! is a book aimed at the earlier reader market; a step up from your ABCs, but not for those introduced to the full world of narration. For a 6 month to 3 year old, there is a lot of great fun to be had in Judi Abbot’s book. The story is very simple, but packed with great ideas. A child becoming obsessed with a toy is not unusual, nor is them coming across other children who have their own ideas. Abbot is able to introduce the concepts of sharing, friendship and trying something new; all wrapped up in a wonderfully cheerful package.

The writing is pleasantly rhythmic for a book with relatively few words. As you are introduced to more toys the wording gets a little more complex; train, train, plane, plane, digger, digger. It is a very joyful experience reading along towards the end as you have to wrap your mouth around what are basically fun tongue twisters that make perfect sense within the story.

A great story is not always enough to make a book standout, especially in the crowded children’s market, but Abbot has seen to this by also having some wonderful illustrations. The pages are packed with colourful and simple imagery. The animals and toys are easy to distinguish, and there is lots to look for and find around the page. Adding even further to the book is the design of the item itself. The version I read was a smaller hardback that fitted wonderfully into the hand and had chunky well-made pages. This is a book built to last.

All the elements of Train! have been very well thought through by Abbot as a book designed for a specific age group – 6 months to around 3 years old. It is easy to follow, bright, but also great fun to read. You will enjoy the twisting and turning fun first, but after a few months, watch as your child joins in to great effect. This is one book that will be well read in my household.

More fun with elephants can be found in Small Elephant's Bath Time by Tatyana Feeney, whilst train enthusiasts can look here instead; Big Blue Train by Julia Jarman and Adrian Reynolds

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You can read more book reviews or buy Train by Judi Abbot at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Train by Judi Abbot at Amazon.com.

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