The Littlest Train

by Chris Gall

In this endearing story of a tiny toy train, the creator of the hit series Dinotrux now breathes life into more than a half-dozen trains that climb, haul, chug, zip, and zoom.

In a small room, down a short flight of stairs, there lives a little toy train...about to have a BIG adventure! There's an endless world to explore, and awe-inspiring new friends to meet. Mighty Max, Chloe Cogs, Sara Speedster, and Farley Freighter can reach all the best sights, lickety-split. But when the day is done and the sun goes down, will the littlest train find his way home? Calling all train All aboard!

Genres: Picture Books, Trains, Childrens, Transport, Adventure, Fiction, Juvenile

Audible Audio

Published June 30, 2020

About the author

Chris Gall has been drawing pictures for as long as he can remember. When he was caught doodling on his desk in second grade, his teacher suggested that he might become an artist some day, then made him clean all the desks in the classroom. In seventh grade, Chris won a Read Magazine Young Writers Award, and that inspired him to create stories to go with his art. After graduating from the University of Arizona, Chris became an award-winning, internationally recognized illustrator, and his artwork has been shown in almost every publication in America, including Time, Newsweek, People, Fortune, The New York Times, and The Washington Post.

In 2004, his first picture book, America the Beautiful, became a Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Book of the Year, and his career in children’s publishing began. Since then he has authored and/or illustrated 16 more books, including the acclaimed Dinotrux, a 2009 Publishers Weekly Best Children’s book; Revenge of the Dinotrux; Awesome Dawson; Substitute Creacher; Dog Vs. Cat and The Littlest Train. For grownups, he also illustrated and designed the PDT Cocktail Book, the 2012 Best New Cocktail Book, awarded by Tales of the Cocktail.

Chris has also worked as an adjunct professor of art at the University of Arizona and spent four years as a professional stand-up comedian. He currently lives in Tucson, Arizona, where in his spare time he works as a volunteer for the Southern Arizona Rescue Association (Pima County Search and Rescue).

In August of 2015, after 5 years of development, Dreamworks Animation brought Dinotrux to Netflix as an animated television show for children.

Reviews

[Luanne Ollivier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ahh trains - Little Guy loves his trains. So Gramma thought that The Littlest Train by Chris Gall might appeal to him....and it did!

He first noticed the 'nice' face (no scary faces for Little Guy) on the larger train and then spied the little train riding atop. He was definitely interested, so we turned the cover and started to read.

The Littlest Train lives on a train table until he is knocked off one day. He then goes exploring and is helped along the way by other, bigger trains to find his way back home.

The illustrations are quite lovely, done in muted, soothing colours. The introduction of lines and cross hatching throughout each item give the illustrations depth and texture. Those friendly faces extend to all the toys, trains and characters that populate the story. The little boy who owns the train table is named Mr. Fingers. Which makes sense from the train's point of view I suppose. But perhaps a name like Bobby would have been easier for a little one, with no explanation needed as to why he was called Mr. Fingers. We enjoyed looking at the pictures and places that the Littlest Train got to visit outside of his train table home. This did spark Little Guy to show his trains some new places in his home. Gramma quite liked the mouse's home. (The Borrowers came to mind!) The trains that help him find his way back are all different. (A description of each is included on the last page.) They have names that match their build - Farley Freighter, Sara Speedster etc.

I did like that some pages did not have dialogue. Instead, Little Guy was able to tell that part of the story himself by deducing what was happening from the illustrations. Discussions around exploring, helping and missing something or someone could be started from this story.

The setting, characters and plot will be somewhat familiar to those who have read or played with another well known train and his friends. And after closing the book, Gramma and Little Guy had to go play trains of course!

[Natasha Kareeva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Вроде ок, но не фонтан конечно.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little toy train falls off a child's play table and rolls off on an adventure to see the world. But although he makes friends with all sorts of big trains and sees many amazing sights, at the end of the day the one place he really wants to be is home. Maybe his new friends can help?

There's no shortage of train picture books out there for children, but what really makes this one stand out are the illustrations. Chris Gall has created page after page of richly detailed backgrounds for the little train to explore, from the toy railway on the play table, to rolling farmland, rocky canyons, and more. Kids will probably want to take a break from reading so they can pore over all the details - I sure did! For that reason, I would probably recommend this for one-on-one sharing instead of storytime. It really is a book that's meant to be savored.

Facts about the different kinds of trains shown are well integrated into the text, and a "More About Trains" section on the last page should satisfy kids who want to learn more.

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truck-loving tots may adore meeting many new trucks through this tale. Grownup-type trucks, such as Mighty Max, Chloe Cogs, Sara Speedster, and Farley Freighter.

Another plus is how active verbs add to the spirit of adventure, as in:

They thundered off together with the wind in their smokestack."

ANOTHER ENTICEMENT? ILLUSTRATIONS MAKE A BIG STATEMENT

These remind me of "Thomas the Tank Engine" popup book. Perhaps if married to Picasso's work during his Cubist Period.

Definitely very-very solid pictures!

BEST OF ALL

Will the Littlest Train arrive home safely? Of course young readers will care.

There's a distinct possibility that the ending will rightly be appreciated as wonderful.

[Liz P · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 4-year-old truly enjoyed this story. He really liked that the story was from the point of view of the little toy train. We both thought the illustrations were fantastic. What I found really neat was the list of trains at the end of the book. The author gives you descriptions of each type of train. The author also included information about how the illustrations were made and what type of paper it was printed on. Call me a book nerd, but I really thought it was neat that they included that info. I highly recommend this book!

[Ali Book&Seaglasshunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my preschooler’s favorite books. A little toy train is knocked off of the play table. He embarks on an adventure but eventually missed home. His new friends help him get back home. The idea of toys having adventures of their own is lots of fun. I like that you can interpret the story in a few different ways-did the train really go on an adventure? Or Was it imagined? The illustrations are nice, with calming colors and a somewhat vintage inspired feel. There’s also a nice bit of info about types of trains in the back matter.

[Juliana Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

The littlest train was dropped when Mr. Fingers took apart his table top town and track. Little Train found a tunnel (mouse hole) and went outside where he met the biggest train he had ever seen. Little Train took a series of journeys onboard other trains until he missed his home. A freight train took him back to a delivery truck which dropped him off at a toy store. The next day Mr. Fingers arrived and bought him back returning him home to a new table top town he had built for his train.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

The little toy train has quite the adventure when he is knocked off his train table and begins exploring. He ends up outside at a train track and sets off with a variety of trains to see the world and then find his way home.
The illustrations are colorful and provide a realistic backdrop for this story.
Young readers will enjoy seeing the variety of trains though they may not understand their names.
Information text identifies the various engines at the end of the book.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Local author and my son loves trains(he is grown up now) so I thought I would get this signed for him and his future family library. No dedication. I cannot quite tell what this story is about. It has a few train facts and somehow the little train ends up really traveling - I cannot tell. I thought is just fell on the floor and then all of a sudden its out of the house and on real trains. Ends up in a second hand store and then somehow magically makes it back to the same house?

[MaryLibrarianOH · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bright colorful pages introduce kids to all kids of trains through the eyes of a toy train. Transportation book lovers will like this one. The only thing that might give readers pause is that what appears to be a real adventure outside of the home, suddenly isn't so clear. Is it Mr. Fingers imagination that carries the story? I'm not sure but kids viewing probably won't care.

[Mister David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations for a story with different kinds of trains, each one appears to be a human. (Trains, in general, tend to have human faces anyway.) The littlest train leaves his cozy home and goes out to the wide world on an adventure where he meets all kinds of trains and sees all kinds of things. After growing up he returns home again to safety and security.

[Eliot Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

The life of an adorable little toy train who lives on a train table is interrupted when Mr. Fingers (child) tears apart the tracks and accidentally drops him to the floor. Soon the little train finds himself exploring outside where he hitches a ride on Mighty Max, a steam train, and sets off on an adventure where he meets many other types of trains.

[The Library Lady · Rating 2 out of 5]

The art is handsome, but has a fake retro look (created on a tablet with Adobe) that doesn't appeal to me. I am also turned off by the names "Sara Speedster" "Farleigh Freighter," etc, which are kind of mawkish.Great for young train lovers, but they need to be old enough to focus a bit, and this is purely a lap book.

[Bethe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice description different types of trains, fun to look for the little train riding in each bigger train, the trip in the tunnel sequence is reminiscent of Mr. Wuffles. Although the Mr. Fingers thing is a little creepy to me, attentive readers will notice that the toy figure atop the train at the end is Mr. Fingers. At the back is a list of facts for each train type.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Mr. Fingers accidentally bumps the toy train off the toy village, the little toy train goes exploring. Off the table the little train sees more of the world, but it gets really exciting when he goes outside and meets a number of real trains. Readers who enjoy stories told from a toy's point of view and train enthusiasts will find this picture book very entertaining.

[Brett · Rating 5 out of 5]

The imaginations that will be fired by this book! Those exquisite illustrations! My 2-year-old nephew (who's in a train phase right now) had me read this to him four times in a row when I first brought it to him. That's a winner right there.

[Marya · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a cute picture book! The test isn't riveting, but the pictures more than make up for that. The little one had great fun tracking the "toy" pictures that show up in "real" versions, and there's even a guide for clueless adults at the end as to which train is which!

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Give this book to any child who loves things with wheels. I loved the illustrations and the notes in the back that told you about each type of train or mode of transportation. I have several students who always want train books so I will definitely be giving them this book to check out.

[Jade · Rating 1 out of 5]

A little lost toy train visits with his real world compatriots before being improbably reunited with his original owner at a random toy store. Illustrations which initially appeared to be woodcut were digitally created with Adobe Suite.

[Vicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful picture book about a little wooden train engine that falls off the table, rolls into a mouse hole, and ultimately heads out into the great, wide world where full-sized engines give him adventurous rides.

[Ann Haefele · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve read this book to my 4 year old grandson about 6 times this week. My almost 3 year old granddaughter loved it too. A toy train falls off of his train table and has adventures with real trains. The illustrations are fun with smiling trains who help the little train return to his home.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful for small train fans. The retro-style illustrations are a real stand-out and caught my eye immediately.

Read in galley.

[Annie Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

The insertion of facts is a little clumsy but it's sure to be a hit with kids that love that trains.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

For all my friends who are fans of trains, check this one out. I loved the retro illustrations and all the different styles of trains they managed to work into this.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sure to be a hit with little train lovers.

[Danica Midlil · Rating 4 out of 5]

My three-year-old son, when we reached the page at the back entitled More About Trains, "Mommy, read this from the top to the bottom."
Yes, Sir!

[Tracie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little train goes on a big adventure with the help of other trains.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book for any child that likes trains. O has so much fun finding the littlest train on every page. The illustrations are really amazing.

[Michelle Farella · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got quite the chuckle that the boy wad referred to as Mr. Fingers :-D

[Elena Maddox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good for pre-K or outreach. Trains.