Train Coming! (1954) by Betty Ren Wright ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
An extremely kind guest came into my dad’s shop one day recently, and after talking to my parents and finding out about my love of antique books and my blog, she gifted me a pile of books! I was blown away by the generosity and touched by the kindness of this person whom I’ve never met. If you are reading this, thank you so much, Amazing Person! 🙂
Train Coming! is the first of the pile I have read, which is a Tell-A-Tale book from 1954. This little book was obviously well taken care of, as it looks practically brand new. It’s filled with the pretty pictures we have come to expect in one of these types of books. The illustrator is listed as Florian. It is 28 pages counting the inside cover illustrations.
Train Coming!, in rhyming form, tells the story of a moment in the life of Joe, who emanates a big “Ooooh! Ooooh” as he passes. One car has milk, another carrots, another tomatoes, and another of potatoes. Everyone is watching for him. He is just just chugging through the countryside, and everything from the pig to the cow on the hill to the farmer’s THIRTEEN children (yes, thirteen is in all caps in the book! Even the author knows that is a lot! ha-ha!) is waiting for him to go by. Everyone around loves to watch Joe go through the area, waiting expectantly for his big “Ooooh! Ooooh!” In the end, everything is quiet, and no one is around, as the Joe has passed, and they will have to wait till tomorrow to see Joe come through again.
I’m giving this five stars, because I loved the way Joe is rhymed with his “Oooh! Oooooh!” and you can almost hear the sound just from reading it. I liked this adorable book.
Thank you again, Kind Stranger. I really appreciate your generosity.
Sounds like a charming book! I love these Whitman books for children.
Me, too! There will be more to come!
My brother suggested that I check out this website, and he was spot on. This article truly brightened my day. You wouldn’t believe how much time I had devoted to finding this information. Thank you!