Down by the Station

Anyone whose read books to children knows the power of a catchy song melody to interest and involve a child in the story. I've always loved reading aloud books that feature song lyrics for precisely this reason--it allows me to get the maximum interest without the effort that can go into a more text-driven read. Many people will already be familiar with some version of Down By the Station. It's a catchy and simple tune that shouldn't be too hard to pick up, even for parents without much of a singing voice.Some of Will Hillenbrand's wordings may differ from the version you know, but the book itself is a charming romp through the zoo as the conductor picks up baby animals from all over the grounds and brings them ultimately to the petting zoo at the end of the story, where the children all enter in to play with them. Older kids will be able to name the animals before you sing the names. As the list of sounds increases, I tend to add some kind of hand motion for each sound, so as to increase audience participation. So for instance, "puff, puff" gets clenched hands opening up like a small puff of air being released, and "toot, toot" gets the action a hand pulling on a chain for the horn. You can make up your own motions for each sound, or not as you choose.The artwork is bright and colorful and cartoon-style, though the images themselves have a softness to them that allows this to also work well for a baby book. The amount of detail in these pictures will probably make the illustrations harder for a group to see, and may not interest a younger toddler as much, but the song lyrics and the fact that this is a train book usually make up for that. At the back of the book, the song lyrics and musical score is provided for those who would require or are interested in the melody of the tune. I'd recommend this book for 0-5 year olds and have yet to find a child that doesn't enjoy the book. The library copies are all well loved and need frequent replacing. Mr. Hillenbrand is a master of children's books and many of his creations are available for puchase!For those who enjoy this story, you may want to also try out books like The Seals on the Bus by Lenny Hort, and Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed by Eileen Christelow--two song books that are also favorites of mine!Happy Reading! ^_^ Shanshad

My 2 year old daughter starting singing the words to the book after hearing it just a few times. The entire book can be sung (music on the last page) and has a very catchy, easy to follow tune that toddlers will love! The illustrations are beautiful and there is so much to point out on each page. On each page a different set of "mom & dad" animals drop off their "baby animal" to board the train to eventually go to a children's zoo. The book refers to the baby by the scientific name (baby elephant = calf) etc, which was a nice science lesson for my daughter to learn since she already knew the animal names and sounds, which are also shown. There is a red balloon on each page they can search for, and each page shows a prelude to where the train is going next that can help your child anticipate the next animals being picked up. Every time we read the book, we seem to find a new small detail in the illustrations that we can talk about. This book will be a favorite for years!

I bought this when my daughter was 1 year old. She loved learning all the different types of animals, vehicles (trains and school bus), role (mom, dad and baby), and places (train station, bridge, school, water fountain, park). It's great to help her learn many objects.Now at 2, she starts getting more advanced on understanding situation (not just objects) and forming full sentences.It also teaches about helping other friends who is in trouble, saying good bye to parents to go have fun and play with your friends/go to school (I map it to go to day care), motion (going up and down, long train and shorter school bus), colors, occupation and function (buying ticket for train ride, getting onto the train, engine driver, teacher) and so much more.On top of that, you can sing the song together with her. Such a fun book.This book is one of the favorite non "go to sleep book". I am sure this book will keep my daughter entertain for many years to come.

We got this book at the library and liked it so much we had to buy it. It's especially fun for a child that likes animals and songs. I'd say you have to be willing to actually sing the song to them to make it a great book. Otherwise it's just going to be another book in the pile.

I really love Mr. Hillenbrand's illustrations. This is a really cute embellishment of the traditional Down by the Station song.However, just an heads up.....stories that he has illustrated so adorably are not all books that I would ever recommend. Specifically a story called Kiss the Cow authored by Phyllis Root.

I really enjoy reading this story to my son as it gives me things to point to as I sing the song and get him to try and join in. Moreover, he will randomly point out different colors, animals, and shapes that he sees as I read thereby giving me a means to reinforce what he is learning.

My son loves this book. It's cute and fun to read. Was in good shape when we got it no rips or anything.

With beautiful pictures and a catchy melody this book tells an original story with a good cliffhanger and a happy ending.

the kids at nursery love it!