When Sam and Poppy Boot go with their mother and dog Rusty to see the old steam train, they are in for a surprise when Mrs. Hill's puppy, Mopp, disappears and Rusty jumps into the train while it leaves the platform.
Heather Amery was born and brought up in Bath, Somerset. Heather has written over a hundred books for children, including alphabet books, science and history books, craft books, classical fairy tales, a series for beginner readers called Farmyard Tales, Usborne Bible Tales, and Greek Myths.
Rusty is a dog. He belongs to Mrs. Boot and her children and they take him along when they go to visit a local historical steam train. Although Rusty is a good dog, he ends up riding the train by himself. That's the gist of Rusty's Train Ride.
Given that there is an old steam train, there should be more about the workings of the train. By leaving the Boot family while Rusty rides off, the train is basically ignored.
As a lost dog story, it's a mediocre tale. There isn't much drama as everyone knows the train only goes so far before returning. As a train book, it's even less satisfactory, as it teaches almost nothing about trains.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
After breakfast one day, Mrs Boot has a surprise for Poppy and Sam as she tells them that she is taking them and their dog Rusty to the station to see the newly reconditioned train arrive. And when they get there they discover a surprise in that Mr Boot, Mrs Boot's husband is, to everyone's surprise, assisting the driver.
Mrs Hill and her puppy Mopp are also at the station and before the train sets off Mopp sneaks onto the train which prompts Rusty to follow. And before the people on the platform who were just there to see the train could do anything, it chugged away. with the two stowaways.
You may wonder what happened next and this delightfully illustrated book tells the tale, which fortunately for everyone concerned, ends happily ....
Another fun early reader as well as a look and find the duck book. This is the sticker book version which encourages the reader to locate the correct sticker to insert in the story as well as fill in gaps in the background and use "I found the duck" stickers when the duck is spotted on each page. Fun and interactive!
Merged review:
Another fun early reader as well as a look and find the duck book. The farming family lose their dog who has a spontaneous train ride. Simple words, clear pictures, ok story.
Farmyard Tales are great the illitration is amazing. Plus, the hidden duck helps children develope visual discrimination that helps them notice differnces in letters and numbers.