I Dream of Trains (Golden Kite Awards (Awards))

Genre: Historical Fiction

Critiques: This is a historical fiction book because it follows the time period in the South when African Americans were slaves. The young boy dreams of leaving Mississippi with the historic train engineer, Casey Jones. The story is set with realistic language, events, and emotions that resembles that of the time period.
This book is told from a 1st person point of view. The young narrator shares his dreams, imaginings, and desires as he hears a train whistle as he picks cotton in the heat. The thoughts of the boy build a strong emotion for the boy's dreams and help the reader to connect to the story.

Media: acrylics ( )

African American boy who picks cotton in the fields with his family hears Casey Jones go by the fields in trains with whistle blowing and boy dreams of leaving and seeing the world when he grows up.
Ages: 7-8
Source: Pierce County Library, UP Branch

Summary: This story is about a young African American boy who works on a cotton plantation. The boy dreams of riding on the train that goes past where he lives, having the train take him far away in hopes of a better life. He looks up to Casey Jones, the train engineer, as his hero. The book recounts the tragic accident that occurred on one rainy April night, where Casey was killed as his train collided head on with another train. The boy's papa tells him that there will be other trains and engines, and that he still has a place in the big wide world. The boy knows that when his time comes for leaving, he will always remember the life of Casey Jones and the symbol of hope that was his train whistle.

Genre Critique: This book is a good example of historical fiction, because the plot is true to the time period of the story. The story paints a realistic picture of what it might have been like for a child of a black sharecropper at the turn of the twentieth century along the Mississippi Delta. A note is written at the end of the book about Illinois Central's Cannonball, the train that John Luther "Casey" Jones drove back and forth between Mississippi and Tennessee. The story portrays real life events through the thoughts and dreams of a fictional character.

Setting Critique: The setting of the story is integral, because the events that occurred are shaped by the particular time and location that the story takes place. The story is clearly set in the South during a time when there was sharecropping and when trains were the main source of transportation. This setting is extremely important to the boy's hopes and dreams about riding on Casey Jone's train towards a better life. In addition, if the story was set in a different location and time period, then the details about the 1900 train accident involving Casey Jones would not be accurate.

Genre: Historical Fiction
This book is a good example of historical fiction but could also be placed as realistic fiction as well. The time period is back during slavery and working the cotton fields, therefor I chose historical fiction. The characters dream of a better life which is relevant to the time period of slaves and hoping for a change.
Age App: 3-6
Characterization: The train is the antagonist in this story. The main character dreams of a better life and that is represented in the train. The drivers of the train help portray this hope but eventually the train driver gets in an accident. The trains are a sense of turmoil in the boy's life and he learns to associate them with change.
Media: Oil paintings

This book is a good example of historical fiction because it tells a story of the past that reflects historical facts about slavery, but incorporates it from a fictional view of a boy.
Media Used: Acrylics
Age Appropriateness: Intermediate ( )