BABY,

Disclaimer: I usually review children's book based more on what my children think of the book and less on what I think of the book...

They LOVE this book. ( )

The Little Red Caboose makes "his" journey over the mountain and around the countryside. The little red caboose is at the end of the train but has a function to fulfill. Otherwise, there's no real plot here -- just scenes of the countryside that the train is going through. Don't mix this one up with "The Little Engine That Could!", although nominally they are both about trains that come through in a crisis.[return][return]Many crowd scenes of people -- almost all of white people; then one scene of Native Americans in traditional dress -- teepees, etc. So, portrayal of race and ethnicity leaves out whole groups of peoples and portrays white and Native peoples in stereotyped ways. Definitely something to discuss if you read this to a little kid. [return][return]Gender isn't as bad, and is better than other contemporaneous books. There's no reason for the little red caboose to be male, but in the picture of mountain climbers there's a woman, and women / girls are shown throughout all the places that boys are. ( )

Even if you're in the back, the waaaaay back, you can still make a difference. ( )

"It's one of my favorite books. There's kids and girls and boys and trains in it." ( )