Hm. Beautiful, yes. Terrific sound effects if you're into that kind of thing. But I'm just not feeling it, and I don't know any children who would be likely too, either. For all the excitement of the Choo-Choo and the Clang-Clang the colors and art are dissonantly subtle & quiet. ( )

This book is a short tale of what a young boy heard and saw traveling down a dark country road one night long ago. The boy is riding in a very old car with his Dad when they come to a railroad crossing that starts flashing red. The boy waits for the train to come and his Dad and him step from the car to view the passing train. The boy describes what he sees and watches the train until it disappears down the tracks. After the train goes the boy and his father get back in the car and continue on their nighttime journey.

This book has beautiful realistic illustrations. The book only states that this was a night long ago, but the car and train also suggest the book should be placed in historical fiction. The story in the book has wonderful description of the train passing the boy, which makes it feel like the train is just passing in front of you as you read the story. I loved this book and all its wonderful descriptions of the night’s events.

This book could be used to introduce certain aspects of History. Even though the book never mentions a date, you could talk about how the people used to travel, and discuss how methods of travel have improved in some ways, but have stayed the same in other ways.

An old car stops at a level crossing as a freight train speeds by - but this poetic combination of words and pictures makes it as exciting in a book as it would be in real life to stand beside the tracks as a train passed.