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The Prairie Train
Antoine O Flatharta
Illustrated by Eric Rohmann
Picture Book
Ages 5 to 10
Random House, 1999, 0-533-11334-8
Conor and his family have recently arrived in America from Ireland. They are in Chicago now and are going to travel all the way across the country on the Prairie Train to the great city of San Francisco. Conor carries a toy boat with him, a boat that his grandfather carved back in Ireland. It is his most treasured possession so when it falls out of the window of the moving train Conor becomes very upset. He wants to stop the train but that just isn’t possible. The train has to keep on going west.
What Conor does not know is that the train, the Prairie Train, wishes it could become a boat. How wonderful it would be to be able to go wherever one wants without having to travel on tracks. After the loss of his beloved toy, a miserable Conor goes to sleep and in his dreams he is joined by the Prairie Train. The train is now a seagoing vessel and it carries Conor back to Ireland and to his grandfather. Together the train and the little boy have a wonderful adventure and when the next day arrives and they find themselves once again traveling across the prairie, both of them are ready for whatever lies ahead.
This is not just a story of an immigrant family looking for a new life. It is also the story of a little boy who loses his favorite toy and who finds comfort in his dreams and in a very special friendship. Warm and often dreamlike paintings complement the text to such great effect that readers will be left with a sense of wonder when the story is over.
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