Pete the Cat's Train Trip

Reviewed by: Sheila Dube - Springvale Public Library, Springvale, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: October 13, 2015

Review

Pete the Cat is traveling by train with his brother and mother to Grandma's house. They buy tickets, get seated and meet the conductor. Pete tells him "I love trains" and the conductor takes him on a tour of the whole train. They meet his family at the snack bar and the engineer shows him the front of the train. On his way back to his seat, he makes new friends who play games and "Pete sings a song. What a groovy ride!" Grandma gets a big hug when they arrive. It is refreshing to have an easy reader book that uses the full 32 pages to tell the story. The brightly-colored, child-friendly illustrations work well with the text to give readers an understanding about what their first train trip may include. This is designated as a My First Shared Reading by the publisher which is explained in the front of the book as reading with the child. The text seems to be gauged for a more experienced new reader, so parents would want to read with their child. Vocabulary includes: arrived, explore, conductor, rumbles, bridge and engineer. Fans of Pete the cat and new readers will enjoy this book.

Overall Book Score: very good