Steam Locomotives

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

There is certainly no doubt as to what this exceptional three-dimensional work is all about: on the first spread, the reader encounters the word ``locomotive'' emerging in bold red letters, and, facing it, railroad pioneer George Stephenson's aptly named Locomotion of 1825 is depicted, smokestack billowing, gears and pistons ready to pull away its 28-wagon load. Seven magnificently detailed pop-ups follow on subsequent pages, along with illustrations and a wealth of fascinating information on railroad history. The paper engineering here is intricate indeed; on the French Le Continent (1852), the giant wheel revolves as the page is turned, while the Mallard seems to speed out of the book--appropriate, since this 1938 British marvel set a world record that has never been beaten. A favorite is the 1867 American Seminole , with its lavish, eye-catching paint and giant smokestack. Though diesel engines took over in the 1950s, these beautiful behemoths--and a rare part of history--are lovingly and painstakingly preserved through Moseley's heroic efforts. All ages. (Sept.)

School Library Journal

K-Gr 6-- A pop-up book that presents the history of steam engines in a succinct text that covers the early 19th century through the mid-20th. Each page is accompanied by a well-executed pop-up of one of the trains discussed, as well as attractive pictures of a few others. The pop-ups are not as intricate as those in Ray Marshall's The Train: Watch It Work by Operating the Moving Diagrams (Viking, 1986), as they lack the moving parts and do not try to convey a sense of how locomotives work, but they will probably be more durable because of the fact. The book is attractively designed, colorful, and appealing. The text, which frequently seems to be of secondary importance in pop-up books, is readable, and will provide parents and caregivers many opportunities to explain the concepts presented, as it is not written for beginning readers. It is unfortunate for libraries that there are pop-ups on the inside covers, leaving little room for book pockets or computer labels without obscuring some of the text or illustrations, but the book itself is a delight. --Jeffrey A. French, Cleveland Heights-University Heights Pub . Lib .