Puff-Puff, Chugga-Chugga - Hardcover

Wormell, Christopher

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0689839863 ISBN 13: 9780689839863

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry, 2001

Synopsis

When three large animal passengers with three very large packages board his little train, the conductor fears the worse, in an amusing and brightly illustrated picture book by the creator of An Alphabet of Animals.

About this title

About the Author:

Chris Wormell studied painting and linoleum cutting with his father, and in 1982 he took up wood engraving. He has worked in the fields of advertising and design and has written several books for adults and children. The first book he both wrote and illustrated, An Alphabet of Animals, was made for his son Jack and won the Graphics Prize at the Bologna International Children's Book Fair in 1991.

Mr. Wormell lives with his wife and three children in London.

From Publishers Weekly:

"I have a funny feeling today will be a busy one," the train conductor thinks to himself in the opening of Wormell's (Blue Rabbit and Friends) latest success. And he's right. Hilariously rotund Mrs. Walrus, Mr. Bear and Mrs. Elephant each pour themselves into a car of the train. In town, they virtually clean out the shelves of the fishmonger, baker and greengrocer. Wormell portrays the tiny locomotive as the wooden-toy variety, with open cars in bright colors of red, blue, yellow and pink, linked by tongue-in-groove hitches. The cozy train is overwhelmed by its passengers, precariously balancing their packages. Just when the dwarfed conductor seems to be at the end of his rope, Mrs. Elephant sneezes, hurling the riders and their groceries hither and yon and derailing the train. A distinctly British brand of ingenuity and unflappability in the face of calamity informs the animals' calm response ("It's just a question of leverage," says Mrs. Elephant matter-of-factly to the panicked conductor, as she helps put the train back on its tracks). But even readers on this side of the pond will find the resolution witty. Wormell humorously emphasizes the animals' amazing girth in contrast to the toy train's diminutive size, while simultaneously evoking the calm beauty of the Victorian picture book. Every tableau is a feast of elegant, formal lines and patinaed colors. Ages 3-7.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0689839863
• ISBN 13: 9780689839863
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Wormell Christopher