(that makes seven) and
a coach with seats.
And there's a dining car
where everybody eats.
Now so far ...
that makes nine - "
What a calm and lovely book this will be for bedtime reading. After all, it is the sleep train. The title page allows an inside look at the bedroom where a young boy and his stuffed bunny are reading a book, appropriately the exact one we are about to read.
An expanded view of his room at the page turn offers up a bit of information about him. He loves balls, books, farm animals and old train cars. And reading! Another page turn and the gentle words describing the sleep train pull us in. That first spread shows the entire train making its way slowly over a bridge out of the city where the young man lives, and into the quiet countryside. The next horizontal spread shows the train and each of its ten cars rolling past grassy plains. The sky is pink and gold; the message is clear ... night is coming.
The train's cars are named as it makes its way past a lone elevator and into the beauty of sunset. Passing cows in farm fields, a train station, and the starry night sky, the train rolls on. Ah, but who is in that sleeper car? The young man, by now finished reading his book, imagines himself counting the train cars, once and then again. All the way to sleep!
An explanation for the illustrative work done to create these awesome digitally manipulated photographs is extensive and can be found on the copyright page at the front of the book. Each spread is detailed and beautifully designed, inviting readers to pause and consider every carefully constructed piece. The rolling rhythm of the train is captured in the soothing rhymes of a spoken lullaby, as the sky darkens and sleep comes.
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