Crossing

Crossing by Philip Booth, illustrated by Bagram Ibatuolline (Walker Books)
PB RRP $16.95
ISBN 9780763666644
Reviewed by Anastasia Gonis

Lovers of all things connected to railways, regardless of their age, will cherish this superb book. Illustrated by the acclaimed Bagram Ibatoulline, his work is in demand more now than ever because of its great artistic merit. He has made Philip Booth’s rhyming verse into a gallery collection of steam engines and crossings, gondolas, boxcars, tankcars, cattle cars and hoppers of coal.

The reader is given the opportunity to travel back in time to an era where children’s excitement at watching and counting the cabooses was a delightful pastime. The characters’ clothes, bikes, and toys, together with the scenery, recreate the times and the carefree attitude of the people. You can almost hear the sound of the steel wheels against the train track, and hear the shouts of the children. Everything is so real it is as if the reader is in a corner of the picture, part of it, sharing the movement and sound.

A priceless addition to any collection, and comes highly recommended.