Train Man

Andrea & David's "Man" Books

by Andrea Zimmerman

There are bridges to cross, tunnels to travel through, and mountains to climb so kids can hop on board before the whistle blows.
Told in simple words from a little boy’s point of view, this spot-on picture book celebrates a child’s world of adventure and love of transportation vehicles.

Genres: Picture Books, Trains, Childrens, Storytime, Transport, Juvenile, Family

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2007

About the author

Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha are married and have created several children’s books together, including Digger Man, Fire Engine Man and Trashy Town, an ALA Notable Book. Zimmerman was born in Ohio and grew up in New York, Utah and California. When she was young, she loved exploring nature, reading comic books, and riding her horse. She studied fine arts for children in college, then later went back to school at UCLA and became a dentist. Clemesha grew up in England and moved to the United States when he was 16. He always loved playing tennis, drawing and reading. He studied English in college and became an elementary school teacher. Zimmerman and Clemesha live in San Diego, California, with their three sons.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/andrea...

Reviews

[Linda Lou · Rating 5 out of 5]

What every little boy dreams about becoming...A train man, an engineer. My 2yr old grandson is one of those. He loves his train set and spends huge chunks of time pushing his train around the track making up destinations as he goes along. Some are destinations described in the book; but every once in awhile he throws in a new one...What a great way to explore and discover occupations and the world around us. What struck me was the relationship that the “train man” had with his younger brother. My little train man has an older brother, too. All Aboard!

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

The same brothers in Andrea Zimmerman's Digger Man are back for an imaginary train ride up mountains, over a bridge, and through a dark tunnel. Big brother loves trains and wants to be a train man when he grows up. He imagines a day of driving a train as well as collecting tickets, blowing a whistle, and fixing the wheels. This is definitely a preschool train lover's dream job. The large colorful illustrations make this an easy book to share or read independently.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This board book has bright pictures and simple words to delight the younger child. This book is all about the responsibilities and "fun" that train engineers have, from driving the train to using the whistle. This board book is great for preschoolers-kindergartners. I would recommend this for any child who loves trains of all kinds.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was good; I would've picked 1 or 2 stars, and I picked 3. So, it doesn't really entertain me, but other books do, but this is more for toddlers and babies (waa waa). So, I like other books in this series, but not this one, although this one was okay. I did like it, but I didn't love it.
The end.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

an older brother tells a younger brother all about what he wants to do on trains when eh gets older and all the places he'll visit. Cute toddler and up.

[Brett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very sweet.

[Cassie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute pictures, but I can’t get over the sexism in this series.

[Milton Louie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A boy wants to be a trainman. B

[Esther · Rating 5 out of 5]

A slightly longer book in the series but equally enjoyed by my boy. Nice illustrations.

[Deepalim · Rating 4 out of 5]

its a compelling story for 3 year olds..my daughter liked it..wished it had a better storyline though..the graphics are very colourful and its a good read

[Orion Kopf · Rating 2 out of 5]

What is wrong with the word “conductor” or “engineer” so we don’t perpetuate sexism?

[Kris Dersch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty much the same concept as Digger Man, which I kind of like better, probably because I read it first.

[E & E’s Mama · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little boy daydreams about what it would be like to be a “train man” (engineer). Very cute.

Read-aloud recommendation: young toddler to preschool

[Cora Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love that it is about trains

[Donn Lorber · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little 2 technical about trains, excellent storyline dealing w train bridges being destroyed and the FBI and local law chasing the Bomber

[Courtney Giurato · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice book for little ones who love trains, but also does a great job of highlighting positive sibling relationships with sharing. We really enjoyed this!

[Sy’s Shelf · Rating 4 out of 5]

the boy in this book had a little brother, just like me!

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book, though I do wish it didn't say "Train Man"... a little too much gender segregation IMO. I don't consider trains "boy toys." "Conductor" would have been just fine. Plus I'd rather it started off with "I like trains" rather than "I love trains." I also wish it said "When I get big I'd like to be a conductor" instead of "When I get big I'm going to be a train man." Semantics? Those little changes would have made me like the book a whole lot more. Anyway, the illustrations are beautiful for any child who does like to learn about trains and for a boy sure, he can consider himself a "Train Man" if he wants to.

[Maria Burel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this story, about a little boy whose dream is to become a “train man”. The primary color illustrations are a nice complement, and the sentiment at the end about sharing his love of trains with his baby brother is sweet. However, the teacher in me wishes that just once the authors would have used the word “conductor” instead of “train man.” It’s a simple way to introduce vocabulary and wouldn’t have changed the context of the story. Just my personal 2 cents. There are also 2 other books in this series, Fire Engine Man, and Digger Man.

[Colette · Rating 3 out of 5]

I chose this book for our PreK-2nd graders knowing they often study modes of transportation, but my true reason is that my husband is a train man too. Though he doesn't like all trains like Andrea Zimmerman's train man, he has his favorites, SD70MAC to be exact.

Fun little book in which a young boy imagines he is an engineer, conductor, and every other job on a train, any type of train! He even brings his little brother who is too small to say "CHOO-CHOO".

I know our little kids will enjoy this book.

[Great Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a colorful picture book about one of every child's favorite topics, a little boy imagines what it would be like to be a real Train Man. His journeys take him from the station, across bridges, through tunnels, up mountains and back home again to his own room where he shares his love of trains with his baby brother.

Reviewed by Reviewer 19.

[Vivian · Rating 3 out of 5]

We used this story as the finale to our library story time about trains. It was nice to have two readers, one to read all the left-hand pages and one to read all the right-hand pages. We had two copies of the book, one for each performer. This makes it easier for the children in our large group to see the pages. Two voices helps keep the story moving and adds to the fun.

[Paul Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for kids who love everything train. I liked the simple colorful illustrations and the story is short. Good interactions points saying "All Aboard" and "Choo Choo". For those worried about vocabulary development - just use the word "engineer"/"conductor" instead of train man. The lack of a developing story relegates it to nice to read only a few times category.

[Rachael · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars for being the perfect book at the perfect time. My son has been talking non-stop about growing up to become a train conductor and yelling "all aboard!", driving his family through tunnels and over bridges... so how perfect is it that we found this book at the library today? An extra star for being one of the few books I've seen that portrays a positive relationship with a younger sibling.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Every little boy's dream.

[Ingrid · Rating 3 out of 5]

A strong choice for transportation obsessed kids. Non-fiction content with simple narrative. See also review for Fire Engine Man and Digger Man by the same author.

[Elsa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute.

[Becca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perfect for those little boys who love trains!

[Beverly · Rating 3 out of 5]

cute, short book for very young train fanciers

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young boy imagines what it would be like to drive a train and take his little brother along for the ride.