Hey! Get Off Our Train (Dragonfly Books) - Softcover

Burningham, John

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0517882043 ISBN 13: 9780517882047

Publisher: Dragonfly Books, 1994

Synopsis

Illus. in full color. "Only Burningham could make an ecological fable so
much fun. A boy goes to bed and dreams that he and his stuffed dog, now a
railroad engineer, are speeding through the countryside playing games and
picking up endangered animals. Spacious drawings contrasted with textured
landscape paintings create a striking effect as the artist juggles antic humor
with a serious message--and never misses a beat."-- "Bulletin, Center for
Children's Books.
"

About this title

Review

It seems that John Burningham has never forgotten what makes children tick and this wonderful fantasy with a green' message is perfect. A little boy goes to bed and dreams of going on an amazing journey with his pyjama case dog on board none other than his own toy train. Inspiringly illustrated, with more than a hint of Turner, the train sets off from the city and passes through all kinds of weather with frequent stops to play ghosts in the fog, swim in the sea, fly kites in the wind, muck about with umbrellas in the rain and more. The fun part is that each time the train stops another endangered animal climbs on board to be met with the inevitable Oi! Get off our train'. In turn, each animal is allowed to stay, having explained why it must leave its own habitat--the elephant because someone wants to cut off its tusks, the stork because the marshland were it lives is being drained, and so on. When mum comes in to wake up the little boy for school she tells him the house is full of animals. Where can they all have come from?

Newcomers to this book will soon get the hang of the repetitive story and will enjoy naming and counting the different animals as they appear. This is a fun book with a serious message. it takes an ideal introduction to green issues for the youngest readers and could act as a starting point for many interesting discussions. That aside, and on a lighter note, show me the child who does not enjoy joining in and shouting out the refrain Oi! Get off our train'! (Ages 4 and over) --Alison Jardine

Review

"Only Burningham could make an ecological fable so much fun. A boy goes to bed and dreams that he and his stuffed dog, now a railroad engineer, are speeding through the countryside playing games and picking up endangered animals. Spacious drawings contrasted with textured landscape paintings create a striking effect as the artist juggles antic humor with a serious message--and never misses a beat."--Bulletin, Center for Children's Books.

About this edition

• Publisher: Dragonfly Books
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0517882043
• ISBN 13: 9780517882047
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 48