Steam, Smoke, and Steel: Back in Time with Trains

When my son found this book at the local library, I couldn't wait to write a gushing review. I am really delighted with this book. The more we read it together, the more impressed I am with the author and illustrator. This book is organized so that you go back in time, viewing the trains of earlier and earlier generations. (This is much more interesting than it sounds. Stay with me!) The narrator is a boy who says that when he goes up, he wants to drive a train like his dad. Then we hear about how his dad also wanted to be an engineer because that is what HIS father was, and so forth. We are brought back in time all the way to the earliest American trains (and the boy's great great great great great grandfather--kids love the repetition too). The final scene is a futuristic train that the boy imagines driving when he grows up. Every other page spread on the book contains short text about a child wanting to drive trains like his father (or mother in one case!) and a gorgeous illustration of a train. If you look carefully, you'll see that every scene is shown from the exact same vantage point, with the same mountains in the background. Not only do the trains change, but so do the stations, the tracks, and the buildings around them. The illustration style is lush, and every one of these images features a different cat somewhere in the scene. My son loves to search for them. The alternating page spreads contain extended text and additional images about the era of train history depicted on the previous page. I have read many, many books on trains because my son gobbles up anything we can find on them, and yet I learned many new things from this book. For instance, did you know that when multiple engines are used to pull a train, they are called a "consist"? Or that brakemen on old trains had to run along the tops of the cars to set the brakes on each one manually? The level of detail is not a whole lot greater than most other non-fiction train books for kids, but it seems to find the most unique and telling details. I would recommend this book for any train child ages 3 and up. You won't mind reading this one over and over. For younger children, just read the text on alternating pages and the captions of the pictures on the more detailed sections.

This is a beautifully written book and very informative for kids that love trains.

This is an excellent book that is fun to read and also teaches about trains. The book follows the heritage of a fictional family where every father, grandfather, etc, of the book's main character (a young boy) has driven a train. (One notable exception is his great-grandmother, who drove a train and is the only female in the family line of drivers.) With each family member he discusses what trains were like at that time and how it might have felt to ride one of those trains. The book includes nice illustrations, including labeled ones that explain the functions of various train parts/sections. The book discusses trains from the following eras: 1830s; 1850s; 1870s; 1900s; 1930s; 1960s; and 1990s. The story finishes with the boy envisioning himself in the future, as a dad who drives a train and shares that love with his daughter. Both my sons love this book and I feel the story is compelling and readable.

I was looking for a basic text, with "beyond basic" appeal, to provide some understanding of how trains work, and I bought this book for my own use. The purchase was right on track - I learned a lot! I feel this is a book to be shared with, not handed to, a child. Once a child has been introduced to it in the company of an interested other, even very young children can delight in it. Note to reader: Guide the attention of the child with whom you share the experience to the *cat* in the first (information-rich) two-page spread and have fun looking for a coordinating image in similar illustrations that follow.

We do like this book, but geez is it a novel to read. I will put everyone in the room to sleep before you get to the end. Coming from a train fanatic household. I think it may be hidden at the bottom of the pile. Shhhhh

My 2 year old grandson loves this book. He loves trains and I thought it might be more words than would hold his interest but he likes to hear this story several times a day!

A great book, filled with interesting history + details and fun to read. I loved that the great grandmother was an engineer in the 30s, and the narrator’s daughter is the future engineer. I also loved the detail of the cat in each train illustration... can you find it? Wonderful present for my train-obsessed kid.

I write 4 stars because my son loves this book. But reading it, its a bit boring to me. Gets very repetitive. The child's father, then grandfather, then great grandmother, then great great, well you get the idea. They all drove trains. I couldn't wait for the end.

This bok was a disappointment as it is very sketchy and not a coverage of trains over timeas proclaimed!

Very happy

worth to buy, child will learn a lot from this wonderful book