"How could a giant steam train go to all these places?
Why did nobody else know about this?
Was the train invisible?
And who put down all these tracks?
Who sold all these animals their tickets? ...
In a way she didn't want to ask the questions, because she was afraid that doing so might disturb some fragile enchantments, and it would all turn out to be a dream that evaporated as mysteriously as it had arrived."
Recently I was asked to read The Silver Arrow and write 40 words for use in a book catalogue. This was a terrific project BUT hold on - 40 words!!! This is almost impossible for me - if you read this blog you know, if I like a book, I tend to go on and on and on.... Oh well here are my (slightly more than 40) words.
My summary: For Kate’s eleventh birthday, her mysterious uncle delivers a full-sized steam train with fifteen carriages. One is filled with candy but it’s the mystery carriage that will prove most important. Where is the train going? Who are the passengers? On this journey the kids make important discoveries about humans, endangered animals and the balance of life. It’s a wild ride but it’s sure worth it.
Like the train itself, this story is a fast paced and exciting ride filled with different scenes and interesting passengers. The passengers are all endangered animals who need to share their stories with Kate and her brother Tom but this is not done in a preachy or didactic way. It is all just a natural part of the story as the train stops at various stations and picks up different animals such as a polar bear, baby pangolin, porcupine, heron and a fishing cat. Kate learns about habitat destruction, the poor practices of humans and the dangers of introduced species but as I said you never feel the author has an 'agenda'.
The Silver Arrow will be published in September, 2020. Huge thanks to Beachside Bookshop for my Advance Reader copy. This book would be perfect to read aloud or for an independent reader 9+.
Here is the publisher blurb from Bloomsbury: Kate wasn't expecting much when she wrote to her wealthy estranged uncle to ask for a birthday present. Certainly she wasn't expecting a colossal steam train called the Silver Arrow to arrive on her doorstep.
Despite parental misgivings, curiosity overwhelms Kate and
her brother Tom and they climb aboard, only for the train's engine to roar into
life. Soon they reach a train station where an assortment of strange and
beautiful creatures are waiting with tickets in their mouths, and Kate and Tom
begin to understand that their job will be to see them safely home – if they
can.
Lev Grossman's first children's book is a journey you'll
never forget: a rip-roaring adventure from desert plains to snow-covered
mountains and everything in between. Packed with exciting creatures from the
indignant porcupine to the lost polar bear and the adorable baby pangolin, The
Silver Arrow is a classic story about saving our endangered animals and the
places they live.
I would pair this book with:
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