C Is for Caboose: Riding the Rails from A to Z

by Sara Gillingham, Steve Vance (Illustrator)

Pack your bags for an unforgettable trip! An unexpected mix of vintage illustrations and contemporary photos makes this word book about trains as entertaining to look at as it is to read. With simple information about everything from the transcontinental railroad to the model trains, C Is for Caboose is sure to excite young readers' natural curiosity and fill their heads with details they'll be eager to share.

Genres: Picture Books, Trains, Nonfiction, Transport, Childrens

40 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2007

Reviews

[Patrick Resse · Rating 5 out of 5]

C is For Caboose written by Traci Todd, Sara Gillingham, Chronicle Books, and illustrated by Steve Vance, is an excellent alphabet book for young kids in grades kindergarten through first grade. This book has not received any awards, but its excellent mix of real life and illustrated pictures, as well as topic friendly content make it deserving of one. The book starts with “A” and goes through the alphabet, all the way to “Z”, naming trains or things related to trains that start with that letter. This book even furthers the educational process by defining what those things are, and what their function is. The book starts with a conductor yelling, “All Aboard!” with the “A” being bolded and printed much larger than the other words. The book then goes on to show bullet trains, circus trains, dining, car and even name-dropping George Pullman, allowing the kids to get a history lesson while reading. When describing the bullet train, the authors convey in a blurb underneath the letter that it is a group of super fast trains invented in Japan. The book then works all the way to Zephyr, with a detailed description and an old photo dating back to the 1930’s. This book is also interwoven with many different kinds of pictures, such as old photos, illustrations, and even posters.
This is an excellent childrens book that is both educational and fun, especially for children who enjoy anything train related. It was a great idea by the authors to use something so beloved by many children to tach them the alphabet as well as historical facts about them. The background colors are also very vibrant and help the words jump out on the page and make the reading and looking at pictures that much better. The biggest positives however are the mix of illustrations and pictures. The illustrator incorporated older picture from anywhere from the 70’s and earlier, providing kids that look into the past they are probably not used to with today’s heavy technology use geared toward young kids. This is a tremendous book I know I will pick up again for my future classroom. For a separate activity, kids can find a topic of their own and use the letters of the alphabet to describe tings related to their topic. After a long break you could also have the kids describe what they did using the same format as this book.

[Carolina Combetta · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great ABC book for young children. This is a little more different than other ABC books as this is an ABC book that relates to trains and how they are part of history. For example, "I" is for Immigrants- Immigrants are people from all over the world, especially Ireland and China, who helped build America's railroads. This is a very informative book and children would benefit from the information in it. i loved the mixed media, from historical pictures cartoons.

[Elly Malone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: informational nonfiction
Grade Level: k-1

This book is one of my favorite train books, I think. The way it's set up (in an A-Z fashion) was excellent for younger readers. The parts of the train and facts within the book were informational, so readers are getting knowledge out of it. And I loved the choice to include real pictures alongside the illustrations. It made it realistic.

[Reagan Kapasi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sept-Nov 2021 Mohsin likes saying All aboard, old man and dog on "Hand Car" page is Dada and Lennon, tunnel page "choo choo coming!"

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was truly a great and interesting idea for an ABC book geared toward one specific subject, which is of course the train. What made it even more eye-catching for me is the fact that I had ridden on the Amtrak last year alone and then my niece has been on train kick ever since then so when I saw it in the window I knew that it would be her book.

The book is well put together and does cover all the letters. And what makes it different from other ABC books is the fact that not only is it educational but it doesn't limit itself to just one thing for that particular letter but instead if there are several things then it will cover however many items there are such as three items per letter or even just two.

Another thing about this book is the fact that it touches on all parts of the train. It touches on the function of each "car" or "platform" in giving their names, people who have contributed to the railroad world, railroad contributions, historical usages and even newer technology although the using of roller coaster threw me off for a bit.

There will be some information that many can relate to and some newer things like school trains, which will drive you to wanting to learn more. So for any train fans - whether young or old - or those who are just interested in any type of transportation I would recommend this book. The vintage illustrations bring the whole historical world to life while the modern day pictures are brightly colored enough to break-up the black-and-white monotony for those who don't like non-colored pictures. And you just may get a hankering to jump on the nearest train or even go to a depot museum to check things out for yourself.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was really impressed with this ABC book. I was worried about reading this to my 3 year old, but the explanations of each letter are nice and brief and surprisingly varied when it comes to trains and railroads. I absolutely love the mix of old photographs, art, and vintage maps. I was surprised by "S" which is a school train car - something I had never read about before!
Also, when it comes to ABC books I always look to those odd letters Q, X, & Z to see if the author cops out on them. I'd say the book passes really well. X is for "crossing" which makes sense because RR crossing signs have an X on them. Q and especially Z were great. So, this book gets a big gold star for not copping out!
Overall, a really enjoyable look at a railroad alphabet. I wouldn't mind owning this one.

[Angela · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's probably great for little ones who love trains, but I thought it was long and boring. Alphabet books are long enough as it is. Having 2-3 items per letter makes it more like reading a dictionary. The historical photos (mostly black & white) were interesting but didn't catch my little guy's attention.

[Debra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't care for this book. I find it rather boring. BUT, my 4 year old, who is a huge train lover, loves this book. He picks it out often for me to read. So if you have a little one that like trains, it will probably be a hit. Otherwise, I imagine they will be squirming in their seats with boredom.

[Michal Hope · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for any children that love trains and it has some great upper level vocabulary but some of the words are very hard for a toddler. The illustrations are excellent, some hand drawn and some photos. My grandfather worked in the train yard many years ago and this book brought back many memories of the stories he'd tell. I highly recommend it!

[Tricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

how we love train books in our house...this title offers a lot of detail, combining illustrations and vintage photos, in an alphabet concept book. for a train-obsessed preschooler, this may be worth a purchase.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picture book - 1-3 graphics, paintings or pictures per page explaining what the part is i.e.(K) diagram of knuckle coupler which conects the cars of a train. (K) also has a picture of Kings Cross in London from the 1930's. Super for the child obsessed with trains

[Sarah Herrington · Rating 5 out of 5]

We LOVED this book. Both my small people are really interested in trains and I loved the vintage style. I love a well done alphabet book and this one definitely fit the bill. It was engaging for my older toddler and my kindergartner (and me!).

[Chak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alphabet book for train lovers. Old-style and vintage pictures. Ages 2-4. Train lovers only.

[Cynthia K · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised that, unlike many alphabet books, this one often included more than one item for each letter. It was an interesting overview of train related things from A to Z.

[Jie · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 star from the kid. Non fiction, dictionary type of book. Good for children who love trains.

[Michelle Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun read that had lots of really cool old pictures so you could see all kinds of trains, cars, people, etc. A great book for train lovers. :)

[Alison · Rating 2 out of 5]

Way too long for the intended audience. It teaches a lot about trains but information overload for a young child.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Noah's Library Choice - December 2016