Book picks similar to
Portrait of the Rails: From Steam to Diesel by Don Ball Jr.
trains
transportation
grandpa
just-in-case
Rodzina
Karen Cushman - 2003
But she has no home, no family, and no choice. Rodzina doesn’t believe the orphans are on their way out West to be adopted by good families. She’s sure they will become slaves to strangers. Anyway, who would ever adopt a large, tough, stubborn girl of Polish origin? As the train heads west, all Rodzina has is a small suitcase and her family memories from the past. Will Rodzina ever step off the train to find the family that deep in her heart she’s searching for?
The Big Red Train Ride
Eric Newby - 1978
In 1977 Eric Newby set out with his wife, an official guide and a photographer to gather a wealth of irreverent and humorous detail about life in the USSR.
Thomas and the School Trip
Owain Bell - 1993
in full color. That cheeky blue engine refuses to be sidetracked from his goal of taking schoolchildren home after their visit to the train yard--despite a host of obstacles along the way.
Two Little Trains
Margaret Wise Brown - 1949
Puff, Puff, Puff and Chug, Chug, Chug, Two little trains to the west.
Curious George Takes a Train
Margret Rey - 2002
Curious George is excited for a train trip with the man with the yellow hat, but when he tries to help out the station master, he gets himself into trouble. All is forgiven, though, when George helps a new friend in need and gets to ride up front with the conductor. Bonus connect-the-dots, fun facts, and telling time activities inside.
Iron Empires: Robber Barons, Railroads, and the Making of Modern America
Michael Hiltzik - 2020
Once a hodgepodge of short, squabbling lines, America’s railways soon exploded into a titanic industry helmed by a pageant of speculators, crooks, and visionaries. The vicious competition between empire builders such as Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jay Gould, J. P. Morgan, and E. H. Harriman sparked stock market frenzies, panics, and crashes; provoked strikes that upended the relationship between management and labor; transformed the nation’s geography; and culminated in a ferocious two-man battle that shook the nation’s financial markets to their foundations and produced dramatic, lasting changes in the interplay of business and government. Spanning four decades and featuring some of the most iconic figures of the Gilded Age, Iron Empires reveals how the robber barons drove the country into the twentieth century—and almost sent it off the rails.
The View from the Train: Cities and Other Landscapes
Patrick Keiller - 2013
Now, in this brilliant collection of essays, he offers a new perspective on how Britain works and sees itself. He discusses the background to his work and its development – from surrealism to post-2008 economic catastrophe – and expands on what the films reveal. Referencing writers including Benjamin and Lefebvre, the essays follow his career since the late 1970s, exploring themes including the surrealist perception of the city; the relationship of architecture and film; how cities change over time, and how films represent this; as well as accounts of cross-country journeys involving historical figures, unexpected ideas and an urgent portrait of post-crash Britain.
Next Stop Grand Central
Maira Kalman - 1999
Chidchester, head of the Lost and Found, finds lost dogs. Marino Marino makes oyster stew, while thinking up interesting math problems. A man in a porkpie hat buys cherry pies. Maira Kalman's stylized artwork, along with entertaining text, brilliantly captures the excitement of Grand Central Station, "the busiest, fastest, biggest place there is."
Line 135
Germano Zullo - 2013
This meditative picture book explores both, following a young child on a train ride from the city to the country. As the landscape transforms from a bustling city to a richly imaginative world in this distinctively formatted book, the child's sense of wonder and independence flourishes, as does a deep engagement with life and the possibilities that lie ahead—making Line 135 a quietly eloquent gift for anyone embarking on their life's journey.
Subway
Christoph Niemann - 2010
A father.Two children.And more than 840 miles of track.What does it addup to?Something thrilling.Are you ready for Subway?
Clackety Track: Poems about Trains
Skila Brown - 2019
A proud oil stain.There's nothin' plain about a train.Trains of all shapes and sizes are coming down the track -- bullet train, sleeper train, underground train, zoo train, and more. All aboard! Skila Brown's first-class poems, as varied as the trains themselves, reflect the excitement of train travel, while Jamey Christoph's vintage-style illustrations provide a wealth of authentic detail to pore over.
I Like Trains
Daisy Hirst - 2021
All aboard! But best of all is riding a real train to visit someone special--and playing with more trains there! Simple yet evocative prose and pictures make this a delightful read for the youngest train enthusiasts.
Stealing the General: The Great Locomotive Chase and the First Medal of Honor
Russell S. Bonds - 2006
Andrews and nineteen infantry volunteers infiltrated north Georgia and stole a steam engine called the General. Racing northward at speeds approaching sixty miles an hour, cutting telegraph lines and destroying track along the way, Andrews planned to open East Tennessee to the Union army, cutting off men and matériel from the Confederate forces in Virginia. If they succeeded, Andrews and his raiders could change the course of the war. But the General's young conductor, William A. Fuller, chased the stolen train first on foot, then by handcar, and finally aboard another engine, the Texas. He pursued the General until, running out of wood and water, Andrews and his men abandoned the doomed locomotive, ending the adventure that would soon be famous as The Great Locomotive Chase. But the ordeal of the soldiers involved was just beginning. In the days that followed, the "engine thieves" were hunted down and captured. Eight were tried and executed as spies, including Andrews. Eight others made a daring escape to freedom, including two assisted by a network of slaves and Union sympathizers. For their actions, before a personal audience with President Abraham Lincoln, six of the raiders became the first men in American history to be awarded the Medal of Honor—the nation's highest decoration for gallantry.Americans north and south, both at the time and ever since, have been astounded and fascinated by this daring raid. But until now, there has not been a complete history of the entire episode and the fates of all those involved. Based on eyewitness accounts, as well as correspondence, diaries, military records, newspaper reports, deposition testimony and other primary sources, Stealing the General: The Great Locomotive Chase and the First Medal of Honor by Russell S. Bonds is a blend of meticulous research and compelling narrative that is now considered to be the definitive history of "the boldest adventure of the war."
McToad Mows Tiny Island
Tom Angleberger - 2015
Why? Because on every other day of the week, McToad mows Big Island, but on Thursdays, McToad mows Tiny Island. To do so, he puts his mower on the back of a truck, which drives to a train, which goes to a helicopter, which flies to a boat, which uses a crane to put the lawn mower onto Tiny Island. There McToad mows and drinks some lemonade, and before you know it, it’s time to turn around and go back home. But first, the mower has to get lifted by a crane, to get put back on a boat, which is lifted by a helicopter, and . . . well . . . you get the idea. From master storyteller Tom Angleberger and celebrated illustrator John Hendrix comes this playful narrative that treasures the journey over the destination, with lots of planes, trains, and automobiles to boot. Also available by John Hendrix: Miracle Man
Where Do Steam Trains Sleep at Night?
Brianna Caplan Sayres - 2016
Little train lovers with a one-track mind will gain a new affinity for their bedtime routine when they find they share it with their favorite vehicles.