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Puff-Puff, Chugga-Chugga
When three large animal passengers with three very large packages board his little train, the conductor fears the worse, in an amusing and brightly illustrated picture book by the creator of An Alphabet of Animals.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 2001
22 people want to read
About the author
Christopher Wormell
107 books30 followersChristopher Wormell is an English printmaker, principally known for his illustrated books.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
November 16, 2017
Not really a fan. Not a bad option for storytime, all things considered but I don't know why kids books have to include awkward fat shaming. Yes, they're animals, but they're anthropomorphized animals and they're meant to represent people. Not a great guy, that conductor.
January 30, 2019
Fun story and the kids at story time love repeating the "Puff-puff, chugga-chugga" as the train goes along. Can use for train, elephant, or walrus themes as well as discussing how our reactions shape our emotions and good vs. bad attitudes.
September 21, 2018
I like this book because everyone gets on one stop at a time; the elephant got on and then the bear and then the walrus then they bought things.
October 13, 2017
My son has just been obsessed with this book. Every time he is at home, he wants me to read it to him. I must say, it is a cute concept for a book. You can tell the author/illustrator is British from the terminology in the book. I had never heard of the book before, but since my son loves trains so much, I figured I would give it a try.
The book is about a conductor who runs a small 3 car train. On his way from his house to the town, he picks up three passengers: Mrs. Walrus, Mr. Bear and Mrs. Elephant. He doesn’t think any of them will fit in the cars, but they do somehow. He warns them not to get too much shopping when they get into town, but of course they do. Everything manages to fit into the train cars until a bee flies up Mrs. Elephant’s nose and she makes the most enormous sneeze, blowing everyone out of their seats and upsetting the groceries and the train cars. That is my son’s favorite part: He loves making the giant sneezing noise with me (not exactly in the book, but the sound effect is funny so I added it in so he could understand what was going on). With all these groceries everywhere, what are the poor animals to do? Invite all their friends and family to have a picnic, of course! Soon the place is swarming with all ages of walruses, bears, and elephants chowing down on all sorts of new things. They right the train and then promptly take a nap after gorging on all that food. The conductor takes his train home. Recommended for ages 2-6, 5 stars.
The book is about a conductor who runs a small 3 car train. On his way from his house to the town, he picks up three passengers: Mrs. Walrus, Mr. Bear and Mrs. Elephant. He doesn’t think any of them will fit in the cars, but they do somehow. He warns them not to get too much shopping when they get into town, but of course they do. Everything manages to fit into the train cars until a bee flies up Mrs. Elephant’s nose and she makes the most enormous sneeze, blowing everyone out of their seats and upsetting the groceries and the train cars. That is my son’s favorite part: He loves making the giant sneezing noise with me (not exactly in the book, but the sound effect is funny so I added it in so he could understand what was going on). With all these groceries everywhere, what are the poor animals to do? Invite all their friends and family to have a picnic, of course! Soon the place is swarming with all ages of walruses, bears, and elephants chowing down on all sorts of new things. They right the train and then promptly take a nap after gorging on all that food. The conductor takes his train home. Recommended for ages 2-6, 5 stars.
August 21, 2008
We check this book out EVERY time (I'm serious) we go to the library. I've tried to buy it and it's out of print...$40 for a used library copy. It might be worth it. Very cute, Morgan has it memorized. (Maybe we'll just lose it and pay the replacement cost...hmmmm?)
September 18, 2008
This is a children's read-aloud book. Lots of fun! There are many repeated, expected phrases in the text. I can just imagine the kids repeating these phrases with you as you read. Good pictures, too.
September 23, 2014
I love that this book is gentle and perfect for very little children, what with all the animals, the train, and plenty of repetition. At the same time, the language is quite sophisticated for a picture book, which makes it a delight to read.
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June 21, 2008Davey loved loved loved this book we got it at the library, if anyone sees it get it for me. It is out of print now and I cant get it for a reasonable price.
August 27, 2008
Very cute little story. Ashton likes it a lot and would finish the page for me..."and they did"!! If your kids like trains and animals you should try this one.
October 24, 2008
trains; animals - walrus, bear, elephant; shopping, picnic, friends, working together to solve a problem
November 13, 2008
Frank really loved this book, requesting it every night this week. It has great humor for a preschool aged kid.
January 23, 2010
Santi's very favorite right now. Trains and elephants! Wonderful themes! Great read aloud!
April 18, 2013
My eight year olds favorite at the moment:)
October 16, 2013
sweet little english book about a conductor who worries needlessly and a sweet, happy ending.
April 24, 2008
A good little kids book. Simple humorous story with big beautiful illustrations.
March 31, 2012
Abel loved this book (age 2) and asked for it at least twice a day. A fun train/animal book.
November 14, 2012
PB24 - This book was really redundant and overall not interesting at all....
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews