In this special version of the Caldecott Honor classic, little hands can slide the doors to reveal the contents of each car, from apples, peaches, and pears in the refrigerated car all the way to caboose—which opens to show the train crew! In simple, powerful words and vibrant illustrations, Donald Crews evokes the rolling wheels of that childhood favorite: a train. This Caldecott Honor Book features bright colors and bold shapes. Even a child not lucky enough to have counted freight cars will feel he or she has watched a freight train passing after reading Freight Train . Donald Crews used childhood memories of trains seen during his travels to his grandparents' farm in the American South as the inspiration for this timeless favorite. Red caboose at the back, orange tank car, green cattle car, purple box car, black tender and a black steam engine . . . freight train. Hop on board and see what's inside the freight train! Slide apart the sturdy pages of this unusual board book to reveal the contents of the cars. The refrigerator car keeps apples, peaches, and pears cold and fresh, while the tender carries coal that burns in the fire box, and--everyone's favorite--the caboose holds the train crew that helps deliver the freight. A continuous track runs through the book, with connecting brightly colored train cars. An appealing concept, executed simply and pleasingly, Inside Freight Train can't miss with the train-loving masses. Caldecott Honor winner Donald Crews ( Truck and Freight Train ) has a way with heavy machinery and young readers. (Ages 2 to 5) --Emilie Coulter Ages 1-3. One of the best designed board books to come along in quite a while, this makes Crews' classic picture book Freight Train (1978) interactive by letting children open certain cars to peek at what's inside. This is no lift-the-flap (and eventually rip-it-off) book. Every other page is twice as thick and split in the middle, allowing the outside half of the page to slide sideways (as the doors slide on the box car of a train) to reveal another, smaller page inside, on which the car's contents are shown. Most train books, even picture books about trains, have a text that's too long for the attention span of the two- and three-year-olds who usually request them. Here the text is simple, with phrases that can become a question-and-answer game. On one page the text begins, "The purple box car carries . . ." When the car is slid open, it continues "toys and books." By the second reading, even toddlers will be finishing the line, or at least taking charge by pulling the door open to find the answer. Given the perennial appeal of trains for young children, the fun of sliding the doors, and the satisfaction young children take in revealing what is hidden, this little book really delivers. A "second generation" board book that isn't a diminished version of the original picture book, but rather a playful first step for younger children. Carolyn Phelan Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved "A color concept book of outstanding quality.” - Boston Globe Here comes the freight train! In this new sturdy sliding board book, Caldecott Award winner Donald Crew takes children right on board as they slide open the doors to see what's inside each train car. Donald Crews is the renowned creator of many celebrated children's books, including the Caldecott Honor Books Freight Train and Truck . He and his wife, Ann Jonas, live in New York's Hudson River Valley.