Welcome to the Nighttime Train

Toddler-PreS–A cadre of anthropomorphic animals—elephant, rabbit, bear, lion, dog, cat, lamb, mouse—experiences the routine of getting ready for bed as a series of stops on a fanciful railroad train. After boarding at Sundown Station, there’s Pajamaville, Toothbrush Town, Library Land, and finally Starlight Skies, where the beds are made of fluffy little clouds floating in the dark. Cool pastel-toned art depicts calming landscapes, mapping out the geography of the imaginary evening world: gentle hills and fields, a peaceful coral reef, a lamplit forest grove. Each spread cleverly shows the cheerful red train traveling left to right, mimicking the rolling flow of the story, accompanied by bouncy rhymes in common meter: “So many bedtime stories here!/ Let’s find a favorite book,/ then curl up on a cushion/in a moonlit reading nook.” While there’s nothing particularly new about the concept of animals on a lulling journey towards sleep, the execution of the story possesses a great deal of tranquil charm. Parents of very young children will likely find the structure helpful as they establish loving bedtime routines in the home.