Karen Blair, Train Party, Penguin Random House Australia, July 2021, 32 pp., RRP $19.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760899578
A delightful, rhyming romp about the experience of going on a mini-railway, Train Party, will appeal to pre-school and early primary school children. The story works as a poem with each stanza including an ‘ack’ sound and concluding with ‘clickety-clack’. This technique helps to give the words a rhythm that cleverly mirrors the train-ride experience like so:
Tickets in hand,
We all stand back.
Let’s find a seat.
Clickety-clack.
The illustrations are bright and colourful with maps of the railway tracks on the endpapers. A diverse cast of child characters are accompanied by the older men who run the railway.
This was a nostalgic indulgence for me, as my family spent many happy days at Victoria’s Eltham mini railway when my children were small. And, as highlighted in this story, it was the perfect venue for children’s birthday parties.
Children who have enjoyed the mini railway experience will love this book and those who have yet to enjoy its charms will feel inspired to do so.
Reviewed by Heather Gallagher
