This is a wonderful book! I was a bit apprehensive about buying it because it includes no text. However, this has quickly turned into a bedtime favorite at our house. My son received it when he was about 18 months old and a year later, he still requests it by name. We look at the pictures and he is able to tell me what is happening on each page and he often makes up a story about what he sees. This book takes you on a journey across the country with a truck carrying bicycles. You see the truck drive in fog, rain, in traffic and (my son's favorite) through a tunnel. My son has learned some basic traffic signs, shapes and even directions (left, right, up, down) with this story. I highly recommend it!

I bought this book when my son was 18 months old. He had NO interest at all in sitting still to look at books. He took one look at all those TRUCKS and was transfixed. From the day I brought this book home he showed a greater interest in his other books and at 3 1/2 he is an avid "reader".

I wasn't sure whether or not my son would enjoy the textless book but it has quickly become his favorite book! It is so bright and colorful and encourages me to make up different stories each time I read it to him.

I loved reading this book to my son. The story line, drama and noise effects would be EXCELLENT for any student to present in a Speech Competition.

This is an excellent book. I am an artist, so I especially appreciated the illustrations, which are beautiful as well as exciting to look at! The illustrations and story combine to make it seem like a real-time adventure, as though you are really there with the children. My four-year-old loves this book. We have had many interesting conversations about the reactions of the children to their adventure, and why they did the things they did. For example, why were the children scared? What did they do when they were afraid? Should they have listened to their Mama? Etc. We were first introduced to it by checking it out at our library, and now I am going to purchase it for us. You will enjoy this book alot.

This is a great book. It is by far my sons favorite book and he has practically got it memorized by now! I started reading it to him when he was less than one year old and he could enjoy the over-large pictures and special sound effects if nothing else. One time when he was in his twos I accidentally stopped in the middle of a sentence to sneeze or something and I was astounded to hear him finish the sentence for me! I tested him and discovered that he knew the last word of just about every phrase and sentence. Since then it's been a game with us where I start the sentence and he finishes it. Donald Crews has a prose style that is well adapted to this kind of memory game, it is rhythmic, somewhat repetitive and driving - like the train itself. We are fortunate to live in Japan where a busy train track runs near our house. Thus he has developed a love of trains from birth and the book and real life can interact and reinforce each other. I feel sorry for kids who can't experience trains in their daily life, but this book goes a long ways towards filling the gap. My hats off -- and my warmest thanks go -- to Donald Crews for a wonderful experience.

My daughter is using this book now to learn how to read. She enjoys it very much... especially because the coloration of the text to match the images in the picture gives her clues about what the words are.

I think the book is neat from its style (using the word "rain" written on an angle to be the rain) and its vibrant use of colour.

Michael liked the part when the rainbow came out. It was colorful. Casey liked the same part. I like rainbows.

This easy to read book has predictable and repetitive language. It teaches colors as well as everyday objects. It is a great book for young readers!

School buses are very bright, distinctive, and sometimes mysterious things to a toddler. In the story, we see what "a day in the life of a bus" is like. Buses have homes. People have homes. Buses stop. People stop. It's a wondeful analogy that she understands.

Donald Crews' books are favorites around the house because of their very colorful pictures and simple text. Also recommended: Freight Train, Parade.

The pictures are very bright and crisp and include every day scenes from any town with a school. The sentences are simple and this peek at "a day in the life of a school bus" probably clears up a lot of questions for any child who wonders where those big buses are headed!

This is a favorite of my preschoolers. The simple text is a great tool for teaching concepts including opposites. We would count the schoolbuses on the first page and discuss other concepts on every page. Children at this age love to read themselves(whether they recognize the words or not)and the simple text in Schoolbus allows them to read the book with ease. For children who ride a bus or may soon ride a bus, it becomes a personal story about their experience. I am purchasing it for my one year old along with several of Crews other books.

This book is great to use for predicting outcomes. I just fold that second page back, read and show the first page, and then have the students guess what the second page might be. My students are 6th grade and they really enjoyed it. Some predictions were very easy, however, some really made you think.

My 4 year old daughter loved this book when I got it from the library. I first thought that it might be a bit confusing for her but she understood it perfectly and has memorized the entire thing. This book is definately a keeper.

I loved the way the author approached the alphabet by first telling what the article was in its beginning, i.e. A is for seed, tomorrow's Apple.

Cute counting book with colorful illustrations. Gives 3 sets of numbers and asks 3 questions in each "section." Better than average. I would recommend this one for K and 1st grade, as well as teachers and parents.

This is a wonderful book to use in patterning, multiplication, and creative thinking! I use the book in my classroom in so many ways, with children up to third grade! We read it, then make up our own "Math Riddles" to put into our own class book. Example, Three fish had four fins each, with eight dots on each fin. How many fish? How many fins? How many dots altogether?

This story seems to be about a simple bicycle race; butit'sdeeper than that. This story exemplifies the power of endurance.A race where all contestants are riding bicycles. Fair enough exceptone of the contestants has to stop to fix their bike. They don't just fix the bike and return to the beginning of the race giving up; but they instead continue in the race not only to finish -that was an encouragement in itself-but to go on to win really says a lot. This is an excelent story to encourage our youth to continue on no matter what problem you can not only make it but be successful. This story says don't go on trying to just finish your course. Instead acknowledge that you have a problem, handle it and move on to obtain your prize. We all no the the saying that derived from the scriptures about how the race isn't given to the swift nor the battle to the strong but to he that endureth till the end. This book, again, tells me that I don't only get to finish the race but I can be a winner in the race. To God be the Glory!

My 18-month-old daughter loves this book. The simple story builds with just the right amount of aniticipation and the illustrations build right along with it. Great book for a girl or boy.

This is a favorite young kids' book of mine. Kids will find it appealing for its vibrant and bold illustrations, as well as how it creates a sense of expectancy for the excitement of a parade.

But there's another reason to admire this book. I love the way Donald Crews gets a message of racial harmony across is such a subtle, matter-of-fact way. He uses bright colors to illustrate the parade, and, alternatively -- just about every shade of skin tone you can imagine for the paraders and spectators. Faces of deep chestnut are right besides those of yellow-tan, joined with pale cream and light mahagony. Nothing about race is stated in the text, but to the perceptive eyes of young children, the beauty of having many parade colors -- and skin colors-- is obvious.

This bright and colorful board book is one above the others. Each sturdy page depicts a car of a freight train. Every other page slides open to reveal the contents of that car. What fun to see toys and books when the purple boxcar is opened! With just the right amount of text, pre-schoolers will delight in discovering what's inside the freight train.

All of Mr. Crews' books are favorites in our house...so it is no suprise that my son, Ben (3), loves this one too! I am buying another copy for my girlfriend's children. I think this man is one of the best authors/illustrators of children's books around. He has a way with beautiful pictures and simple verses that are so pleasing for young children. This book is a little different from his others because of the sliding pages but it only adds to the charm. This book is a winner! Also, check out Freight Train, Flying and School Bus by Donald Crews as well, you won't be disappointed!

I bought this book on a lark (based on a list published on this site and since my Grandpa was a train lover, I thought I'd give it a try.) What a stroke of luck. My 15 month old son has had this book read to him since he was 6 weeks old and he just loves it. It mesmerized him as much today as it did when he first read it. He is choosing the books we read to him now and this one is never refused. He now even says "gone" when the last page is turned. I'd say out of his lexicon of 20 or so words that he is using with confidence, "go", "gone", and "train" are a direct result of this book.

The illustrations are simple but enticing and the board book is very sturdy (but unfortunately not drool-proof, I am ordering another copy today because the first has become a casualty of the drooling caused by my son's teething.) Like many board books, this is just the right size for little hands to manipulate readily. I plan to put up a year one list and you can bet this book will easily be at the top.

My 16-month-old son loves trains, and we have read many train books. Freight Train is his favorite (and has been his favorite book for the last two months). The illustrations are spare and clear, use primary colors, and have enough detail that my son finds some new train hardware to point at each time we read the book. As the train moves, its different-colored cars blur together for a nice visual effect.

This is a great book to teach colors. Its repetitive text is so appealing to toddlers. My son fell in love with it at 18 months and it is still his favorite book at 3. The illustrations are beautiful and really show the movement of the train. Won't the neighbors be impressed when your preschooler can read the word trestle.