Locomotive

Bibliography

Floca, Brian. Locomotive. New York: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, 2013.  ISBN 9781416994152

Plot Summary

“All aboard!”  Join the experience of riding the transcontinental railroad from Nebraska to California in 1869.  The reader becomes the passenger, the conductor, the engineer, and the workers as the author mixes history, art, drama, and geography in his text as the locomotive moves along the tracks.  Included in the reader’s journey are explanations of each person’s job, the mechanical workings of a steam-powered locomotive, and the ever-changing landscape.

Critical Analysis

Locomotive accomplishes a picture book goal of being read and re-read.  With the focus of informing the reader about the locomotive as early America’s newest form of transportation, the book captures the reader’s attention in many different ways: factually, artistically, visually, and auditorily.  Brian Floca integrates facts, definitions, and actual locations into his text.  As his own illustrator, Floca uses watercolor and pen and ink drawings, both large and small, to enhance the narrative.  By using illustrations, the author creates a more colorful and imaginative setting than using realistic, black and white photographs.  “Chug,” “Clang,” “Huff,” and “Whoo-ooooo” are a few of the descriptive words for the noises the locomotive makes on its journey, giving young readers an opportunity to hear the locomotive as it makes its way down the tracks.

Floca draws the reader into his locomotive world.  He addresses the reader as “you” and uses many imperative verbs, such as “Think of…” and “Look for….”  Some aspects of the experience Floca explains would be humorous to a child.  Some examples are that the toilet empties straight to the track bed and whether or not the chicken dinner could really be prairie dog.  Any reader, upon finishing the book, would feel as if he really understood what it was like to travel by locomotive in the mid-1800s.

There is a serious effort on Floca’s part to be historically and contextually accurate.  He includes a lengthy “Note on the Locomotive,” more than two pages (10x12”) of supplementary information.  Floca also adds a page of sources which, besides being comprehensive, is interesting to read.  Finally, the back inside cover and facing page details the process of steam power and provides a definitive illustration of the parts of a locomotive for quick reference.

Review Excerpt(s)

2014 Caldecott Medal

A Robert F. Sibert Honor Book

NCTE Orbis Pictus honor (2014)

A New York Times 10 Best Illustrated Books of 2013

“…approachable in its artistry and erudition.”– Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Would that all works recounting history could be imbued with Floca’s wit and sense and scale.” – School Library Journal, starred review

Sources

Elizabeth Bird. "Review of the Day: Locomotive by Brian Floca," School Library Journal (blog).  July 30, 2013 (4:00 p.m.). Accessed September 7, 2014. http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2013/07/30/review-of-the-day-locomotive-by-brian-floca/.

“Locomotive.” Publishers Weekley. Reviewed July 1, 2013.  Accessed September 7, 2014. http://publishersweekly.com/978-1-4169-9415-2.

Connections

·        Integrate other books by Floca’s with social studies/history units.

Moonshot  ISBN: 9781416950462

Lightship  ISBN: 9781416924364

·        Practice comparison/contrast skills with original photographs of locomotives, landmarks, and scenery.

·        Multicultural discussions involving the workers who built the railroad.

·        Museum visit (Michigan’s Henry Ford Museum with in-house locomotives).

·        Vocabulary enhancement - mechanical terminology of a locomotive in a word search puzzle.

·        Poetry skill – onomatopoeia.

·        Download coloring pages of the artwork when they become available. http://www.brianfloca.com/ColoringPages.html

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