ALA Booklist (Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 CST 2002)

In Simon's signature style, each double-page spread in this picture book sets a dramatic close-up photo of a moving train opposite a few sentences about the train's source of power (steam, diesel, electric) and how it works. The full-color, close-up pictures by a number of photographers will grab even young preschoolers--from the long-range view of the old steam locomotive pulling a line of passenger cars through the mountains to the close-ups of hopper cars carrying grain, coal, or gravel. The astonishing facts will interest older train buffs, whether the author is writing about the breathtaking speeds of today's electric trains or computerized freight yards where cars are sorted and separated. Simon captures the combination of technology and romantic adventure that gives these machines their enduring appeal.

Horn Book

The layout and organization are vintage Simon: single pages of clear, direct text describing various topic subsets; handsome, well-chosen glossy photos on facing pages; and generous leading. Simon begins with a brief history of trains, defines types of trains, provides brief explanations of different cars, and ends with the importance of trains today. The illustrations fuel a number of opportunities for preschoolers to revisit the book.

Kirkus Reviews

<p>Young trainiacs rejoice! The inimitable author of Seymour Simon's Book of Trucks (2000) offers a companion volume featuring the same sort of huge, bright, sharply focused color photos paired to succinct descriptive and historical commentary. Sandwiched between an attention-grabbing gallery of locomotive headshots and elevated closing views of a pair of crowded rail yards lit by a low sun, the author introduces rolling stock, past and presenta"from quaint cog railways to state-of-the-art bullet trains, plus an array of freight and tank cars. Simon continues to irritate lazy readers by refusing to caption his pictures; instead, he alludes to them in the accompanying text, adding anecdotes, detail, and background information in typically calm, orderly prose. Detail-lovers might wish to know just which trains they are seeing, and a bibliography or list of Web sites at the end would not have been amissa"but big machinery has never looked better. (Nonfiction. 7-9)</p>

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

The author dedicates one spread each to various kinds of trains, from old-fashioned diesel trains to France's TGV, with a full-color photograph on one side and, opposite, a couple of paragraphs describing it. Ages 3-6. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(May)

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 4-Trains and individual freight cars are displayed in glorious full color in this oversized book. Simon offers information on different types of these machines from the earliest steam locomotives to France's TGV, which can reach speeds of 300 miles per hour. The section on freight trains delves into each car from boxcars to the now-obsolete caboose. The sharp pictures cover half of each spread. One small complaint is that while the TGV and Japan's bullet trains are mentioned, they are not pictured. But never mind. Even preschoolers will be drawn in by the large, abundant photographs. Another winner from a popular author.-Anne Chapman Callaghan, Racine Public Library, WI Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.