Current Reads & Reviews: The Caldecott Medal Picture Book

Floca, Brian. Locomotive. NY: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2013. ISBN: 1416994157

Summary: The children's picture book, Locomotive, brings you back to the summer of 1869 to America's first transcontinental railroad. The illustrations and text take you traveling across country through plains, mountains, and oceans all while conveying the speed, strength, and sounds the train endures through its course from the East coast to West coast.

Analysis: As you read Locomotive, you will find that the illustrations tell the story transporting you along as the locomotive travels from coast to coast on the newly built railroad. Right inside the front of the book cover one will learn the history of and view the map of the transcontinental railroad, then in the very back there is an image of the locomotive with an extensive explanation of steam power, how it works and runs the train, including all the "bells and whistles" that make up the locomotive. I read this to my 7th grade students and they felt it was more for 4th through 6th grade levels. The students all agreed that the mood changes as the illustrations change. One student said, "You feel the sleepiness at night and happiness at the end of their journey." The text might be a bit wordy for the younger ages and there is cursive incorporated throughout that could be a challenge for some to read, but is a very informative nonfiction easy reader.

A highly visual concept book, this is a story full of onomatopoeia creating sound, speed, strength, and feeling throughout the text with different colors and larger fonts that pop. The beautiful painterly watercolors project a feeling of progression through vast landscapes as well as action and the hard work it takes to keep the locomotive on track. The reader learns how all the parts and people come together to create, build, and maintain a new way of transportation. The colors used throughout gives the feeling of going back in time to the olden days. The clothing and landscapes project accurate depictions of the 1800s. Locomotive's illustrations will grab the eyes of anyone.

Accolades/Scholarly Reviews: Earning in 2014 The Caldcott Medal, The Robert F. Sibert Honor Book, and the NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor book award and many more accolades.

From Booklist 07/01/2013: "Just as heart pounding are Floca's bold, detailed watercolors, which swap massive close-ups of barreling locomotives with sweeping bird's eye views that show how even these metal giants were dwarfed by nature."

From School Library Journal 07/01/2013: "Simple sketched people and backgrounds, striking views of the locomotive, and broad scenes of unpopulated terrain are framed in small vignettes or sweep across the page. Though a bit technical in explaining engine parts, the travelogue scheme will read aloud nicely and also offers absorbing details for leisurely personal reading. Substantial introductory and concluding sections serve older readers."

Connections: Locomotive would be a great extension when teaching American history, geography, and the expansion of the transcontinental railroad.

One could do a lesson on text-to-text connections, text-to-world, and text-to-self connections with other picture books written and illustrated by Brian Floca. For instance, students can view the different ways of transportation and make connections and comparisons using Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11, Lightship; Five Trucks; The Racecar Alphabet.