Does your child want a pet? Does your child love trains? How about a pet train instead? How to Train a Train is an engaging, witty and action packed guidebook about having a train as a pet. Jason Eaton takes this concept to a magical level in this book. So, how do you train a train? Well, you have to find the right train, catch it and then train it properly. My kids loved this book because of the interesting and unique concept of having a train as a pet! To see a preview of the book, check out this video here created by Jason Eaton, the author of this fantastic book.
When reading this story, there are tons of language concepts that can be worked on with your child. Your child will learn about all different types of trains (e.g. steam engines, freight trains, etc) and new vocabulary words such as “coal”, “herd” and “caboose”. Ask your child, “What does coal do? What does coal feel like?” When reading this book, ask your child to recall and sequence specific steps in the book. Engage your child by asking them the name they would choose if they decided to have a pet train. What type of train would they want and how would they capture it? I love how the trains in the book also have facial expressions which makes it a wonderful opportunity to talk about feelings and emotions. When reading the story, say “This train feels ______. I can tell the train feels this way because their face looks ______”.
I had the pleasure of meeting Jason Eaton at the Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival on September 27th where he read How to Train a Train to a group of children. To learn more about Jason Eaton and how he thought of this unique concept, click here.
Carryover Activities: Have your child draw their own train and then name it. Have them write their own short story on how they would capture their train and care for it. Encourage them to describe their train (e.g. color, size, etc). This activity will help build vocabulary and their commenting skills.
