Have you ever been on a train journey that has entertained you and been informative at the same time? Even if you have been on one, Busy Trains guides you through a fascinating trip on the tracks after which you would end up knowing more about the trains than you did on arrival.

Authored by Jo Byatt, Busy Trains is not your usual book about trains and railway tracks. It goes one step further and makes young readers like you understand what makes a train journey special. It is not just about the arrival and departure of trains, but a lot more, including a trip to the railway station, following the rules and admiring the scenery without leaving your seat.

Be ready to be surprised by the rhyming text in this book that has specifically been written to target new readers, but it also comes up with an easy-to-handle mechanism that keeps the train moving. The push, pull and slide effects on these pages will make you want to go on another train ride, followed by another one and so on.

First of all, the book takes you to a railway station where trains come, go and take a rest along with the passengers that arrive with them. Then the passengers climb onto the train and let it take them to different destinations, making it an enjoyable ride across town.

During the process you can learn a lot of things just by looking at the pages — from the porter loading the bag to the ticket collector waving the green flag, potential passengers purchasing tickets, and loved ones saying goodbye — everything can be found in this book. It might not be written in words, but the illustrations and the ‘special effects’ do the trick.

While one tab gives the effect of a moving train, the other moves the train and one even stops the cars so that the train can pass through. The kids playing on the sidelines of the railway track, horses galloping over the railway tunnel and birds flying in the sky add colour to the proceedings. A few questions here and there will also interest you and your friends, because it requires attention to detail, which would be good for you when you grow up.

This book is part of the Busy Book series which has many more titles to offer but first thing is first. Buy a ticket, hop on board, and ride the train. Choo-Choo!

Published in Dawn, Young World, April 27th, 2024