Big Choo

Reviewed by: Carla McAllister - New Gloucester Public Library, New Gloucester, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: September 13, 2018

Review

Little Choo, a young steam locomotive, wants nothing more than to be big, strong and brave like his father, Papa Pufferbelly. One day he decides he is ready to take on an old bridge, a load of freight and a huge mountain, so he gets on the main line. Sadly, the mountain is too much for him and he is derailed! Papa Pufferbelly urges Little Choo to try, try again and Little Choo learns about how to handle a setback. The illustrations are spot-on, portraying motion and expressions that fit the text well. This is also a great readaloud with lots of chugga-chugga and choo, choo going on. Kids will enjoy hearing this selection over and over and will absorb the lesson on how to get up and try again when one experiences a failure.

Overall Book Score: very good