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"Noisy Train" tells the story of a train named Noisy Train. Whenever Noisy Train says hello to his neighbors, he blows his whistle loudly. However, Sheep and Sheepdog are annoyed by his whistle. Angrily, they tell Noisy Train to stop blowing it. This, of course, makes him sad. However, when he finds lambs on his track, will he blow his whistle to alert Sheep and Sheepdog?

At first, I did not like "Noisy Train" due to the repetitious dialogue but I had to remember that the book is for new readers. But as I continued to read I grew to like it better. The soft colors may appeal to older readers as well as young ones. While I did not enjoy the text, the underlying theme is right on point. The moral of the story is made clear at the end: everyone has a purpose.

Students could be placed into groups to create their own version of the story. They would have to use different characters and create a big book version of their story to share with the class. Students could also write a short paragraph about their favorite part in the original story and share it with their group mates. ( )