Down by the Station

by Will Hillenbrand, Will Hillenbrand (Illustrator)

Overview

Join Will Hillenbrand's group of mischievous, playful, and sleepy baby animals on their way to the children's zoo. You'd better hurry, though . . . they can't be late to greet the first busload of children!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780152167905
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	10/01/2002
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	496,809
Product dimensions:	11.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.18(d)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

WILL HILLENBRAND has written and illustrated many award-winning picture books, including The House That Drac Built by Judy Sierra and his own Down by the Station. He lives in Terrace Park, Ohio.

WILL HILLENBRAND has written and illustrated many award-winning picture books, including The House That Drac Built by Judy Sierra and his own Down by the Station. He lives in Terrace Park, Ohio.

Editorial Reviews

"Cheerful and inviting, this is worth multiple readings: a joyful noise, indeed."—Booklist
"This twist on an old favorite combines sunny illustrations, playful humor, and appealing animals, making it a surefire selection for storytime success."—School Library Journal
"A happy book, filled with childhood exuberance."—Kirkus Reviews

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From the Publisher

Hillenbrand's (The Golden Sandal) whimsical interpretation of a familiar song offers preschoolers a ticket to ride on an enjoyable excursion through a children's zoo. As an engineer makes repeated stops along the tracks, baby animals board a rainbow-tinted train. Each adds his or her own sound to the cumulative refrain: "Puff, puff,/ Toot, toot,/ Off we go!" from "Thrump, thrump" for the elephant calf to "Flip, flop" for the seal pup, building up a symphonic chorus that begs for audience participation. Hillenbrand shapes the simple song into a full-bodied story with a visual narrative populated by characters such as a kangaroo joey that jumps rope and a monkey that rescues a woman in the alligator pond via an upturned umbrella. The artwork foreshadows the creatures to come (e.g., a sign pointing to "Seal Island" appears on the spread before the seal pup's introduction), and the lyrics point up the unusual names of the animal offspring. Softly shaded but brightly colored, Hillenbrand's mixed media illustrations embrace an abundance of droll detail and gently outline landscapes in which the sky gradually changes from the pink hues of early morning to a glorious blue studded with cotton-candy clouds. All aboard for fun. Ages 3-6. (Sept.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

"This whimsical interpretation of a familiar song offers preschoolers a ticket to ride on an enjoyable excursion through a children's zoo," PW wrote. Each new animal passenger adds to the cumulative refrain, "building up a symphonic chorus that begs for audience participation." Ages 3-7. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

Hillenbrand takes license with the familiar song (the traditional words and music are reproduced at the end) to tell an enchanting story about baby animals picked up by the train and delivered to the children's zoo. The full-color drawings are transportingly jolly, while the catchy refrain—"See the engine driver pull his little lever"—is certain to delight readers. Once the baby elephant, flamingo, panda, tiger, seal, and kangaroo are taken to the zoo by the train, the children—representing various ethnic backgrounds, and showing one small girl in a wheelchair—arrive. This is a happy book, filled with childhood exuberance. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews