Freight Train
A brightly colored train changes as it travels through tunnels, cities and trestles, letting a child follow the same object through shifting surroundings.
Freight Train by Donald Crews is estimated to take about 3 minutes to read aloud (60 words, 1 sentence a spread). Best for ages 0-4.
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- Estimated read-aloud time
- about 3 minutesEstimated read-aloud time
- Words
- 60Approximate
- Sentences per spread
- 1Text density
- Re-read tolerance
- 4/5repeat friendly
- Vocabulary level
- 2/5everyday words
- Best for
- Ages 0-4Age range
Our review
The train stays recognizable while the setting changes around it. Its colors offer an entry for a child who wants to point and name; the route through tunnels, past cities and over trestles offers another for a child who wants to trace where something goes. Sparse language leaves room for both without requiring a long explanation.
Follow the train on one reading and look at the surrounding route on another. The Little Engine That Could makes railway movement part of a problem that an engine must solve. Freight Train is better for visual continuity and a short machine-focused reading; the longer story is better when the child wants characters, dialogue and a reason to reach the other side of a mountain.
Before you buy it
The interest is visual motion and naming rather than a character problem. The Little Engine That Could offers a longer train story with a goal, refusals and a climb.
Themes
- trains
- colours
- movement
- first words
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Lists Freight Train is on
- 12 booksWhen Do Kids Learn to Read?Reading develops through several skills rather than one birthday or one successful performance.
14 booksBooks for 1 Year OldsChoose a book for the action you want to share: lifting a flap, naming an animal, copying a sound or settling into a familiar rhythm.- 14 booksBoard Books for ToddlersChoose a board edition for how the child will handle it, then choose the story for what you want to share.