All Aboard! Pete the Cat's Train Trip by James Dean

PETE THE CAT IS GOING TO VISIT GRANDMA.

HE GETS TO RIDE A TRAIN!

Pete is excited as he, Mom, and brother Bob board the big passenger train. It's a first for him!

"I CAN'T WAIT TO EXPLORE THE TRAIN!" SAYS PETE.

And explore he does! When he tells the conductor collecting tickets how much he loves the train, he gets an invitation to a guided tour, beginning with a walk through the cars back to the caboose, where Pete is thrilled as he watches the train approach and cross over a high bridge!

"WOW!"

The floor rumbles under Pete's feet as they head back toward the front of the train. Pete is surprised to discover Mom and Bob in the snack bar car, where Mom hands him an apple. Moving forward through his own car, Pete finds himself in the engine at the very front!

Pete is wowed again by the sight of the controls--throttle and brake--and then the engineer points to a tunnel ahead.

PETE GETS TO HONK THE HORN AS THEY GO THROUGH.

Pete has a lot to tell Grandma when the train pulls into her station, in James Dean's beginning reader book, Pete the Cat's Train Trip (My First I Can Read) (Harper, 2015). Many kids never get to ride a bona fide passenger train for real, and Dean's vicarious ride with his Pete the Cat is a virtual treat. As usual, Pete dresses for the occasion in his blue-striped overalls and railroader cap and is a enthusiastic guide to what a train trip is like.  With controlled vocabulary and plenty of visual cues to help with decoding the text, this entry in Harper's venerable I-Can-Read series offers a groovy treat for emergent readers.