All aboard for a nonfiction extravaganza! Locomotive follows a pioneer family as they travel from Omaha, Nebraska to Sacramento, California, in 1869. The reader experiences the journey firsthand as the crew fires up the massive beast for its first transcontinental journey, then the family climbs aboard. Readers meet the conductor picking up tickets, the "butch" peddling newspapers, fruits and candies, and ?all the cigars you can smoke,? and experience the "convenience" in the corner ("don't wait for the train to stop-it's rude to use the toilet when the train is sitting at a station?). Careful book design captures the motion of the train as it makes its way west from Omaha through the Platte River Valley, then labors over the steep inclines of the Rocky Mountains, across rickety bridges, through dark tunnels and into California.

Locomotive is a book for train lovers of all ages: the poetic and rhythmic text will capture the heart of preschoolers, while intricately detailed diagrams will grab the attention of the most reluctant middle school readers. Author?s notes provide background information about Floca?s research process, while gorgeously detailed end pages map the train?s journey and the intricate inner workings of a steam engine.