Tracks

by David Galef, Tedd Arnold (Illustrator)

Bing, bing, bing! There's a railroad line being built between Granville and Denton.

But with nearsighted Albert laying the tracks, the passengers had better hang on to their seats.

David Galef's laugh-a-minute story and Ted Arnold's jump-off-the-page illustrations take you on the wildest ride of your life!

Genres: Picture Books, Transport, Childrens, Trains, Humor, Fiction

1 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

I’ve published extremely short fiction in the collections Laugh Track and My Date with Neanderthal Woman (Dzanc Short Story Collection Prize), extremely long fiction in the novels Flesh, Turning Japanese, and How to Cope with Suburban Stress (Kirkus Best Books of the Year), and a lot in between. My latest is Brevity: A Flash Fiction Handbook, from Columbia University Press. Day job: professor of English and creative writing program director at Montclair State University. I’m also the editor in chief at Vestal Review, the longest-running flash fiction magazine on the planet.
@dgalef
https://davidgalef.com/
https://www.vestalreview.net/

Reviews

[Jason Dillingham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This railway team is aMAZing at following the directions from their boss! When his glasses break one hot day - when they’re supposed to lay some SERious track down - a bit of whimsical chaos unleashes and they create a very unique railroad. AND all in a day’s time, too! A fun little read for the kiddos. 😊

[Sam O’Connor · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite book

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Albert and his crew were laying track for the new railroad from Granville to Denton. But when Albert's glasses crack and he can't see very well, he takes the railway on a crazy path through a pond, twisting around cows, through a barn and over the treetops, making for a very exciting ride. But what will the mayor think?

Wonderful Tedd Arnold illustrations.

[Trish · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is about a man who creates a wild train ride.

[Reading With Dad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Watch a reading of TRACKS
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTNCKCsqc/

[Mary Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

a fun, silly story about train tracks; my students loved it

[Sarah Ojala · Rating 5 out of 5]

My little guy loves trains and this story is too cute. A great book for a train loving kiddo.

[Erika Arechiga · Rating 5 out of 5]

Albert, a railroad worker, has to lay a new track from Granville to Denton. His crew followed his every instruction, so when Albert accidentally breaks his glasses and tells the workers to lay tracks in odd places, they listen. He cannot see without his glasses, so water looks like the sky to him and cows like boulders. He orders his crew around and through these odd places, making for an arrange of railroad tracks. When the mayor and other people of the town ride it, they are in for a thrilling ride. I am a fan of Tedd Arnold's illustrations and his work on this book did not disappoint. He seemed to bring Albert's nervous personality through the pictures in a short time. The illustrations were hilarious because the characters are so animated and so many things are going in each page. I would enjoy reading this book to any grade because I feel like students would enjoy the illustrations. Not only that, but the text includes loud, action words, like THUD, that would be fun to read aloud with the class.

[Anna Wendling · Rating 5 out of 5]

A railroad construction manager breaks his glasses and cannot see where is is telling his builders to construct the new railroad through or in. The train tracks become quite an adventure to travel on as it goes through a pond and even right over a forest of trees. This is good for Preschool-3rd grade students.
This book will make children laugh and smile as they see all the goofy places that the construction manager is telling his builder to lay the new railroad tracks.

[Lydia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book honors the thinking behind, "It's all in how you 'see' things." In Albert's loss of sight, he was able to "see" a more exciting path for a railroad that left riders celebrating his "out of the box" thinking. Sometimes broken lenses aren't all bad.

Good use of onomatopoeias!

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun book to read. Albert's glasses break while he is trying to lay railroad track and it makes for one crazy ride.

[Meghan · Rating 2 out of 5]

A great book to use when teaching description and onomatopoeia.

[Powers Family · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun story and illustrations

[Eugene Magee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun-reads book. I believe a child would enjoy this book because of the spelling of different words, and the colorful illustrations that are used in the story.

[Gala · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a funny book about a little man who would not admit that he could not see well enough to build a train track without his glasses.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun romp with a straight shot between two towns but near-sighted Albert is laying the new train tracks.

You may need to find this at your library because it might be out of print.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

My boys loved this book when they were little!

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love Tedd Arnold's human illustrations.
Funny read for the kids.