Trains

Children's Literature

Speed. Not the drug, but the old-fashioned fast kind that has been a goal, a dream and a thrill since time immemorial. The "Speed" series—written by a woman, by the way—offers all the statistics and accomplishments and gleaming colors of the fastest machines on earth, sky or sea—cars, boats, trains, military vehicles, planes and motorcycles. Each book includes a very short glossary, an index, a few additional books or web sites and dozens of high-gloss photos of these fast machines poised for action or thundering at full speed. There is almost a social commentary in the book about trains when the reader realizes that not a single one of today's fastest trains is made in America. The only American trains featured are the huge and powerful Allegheny locomotive from the 1950s and the Union Pacific Big Boy, which moved freight in the 1930s. Today's fast trains come from Finland, Japan, France, Spain and Italy. The text is easy to read, full of quotable statistics and complemented by little boxes of "fast facts" about each train. The entire series would be popular and well-thumbed in your classroom library. 2001, Blackbirch Press, $16.95. Ages 8 to 14. Reviewer: Karen Leggett