Tootle

Maybe it's because it was the forties and the war was on and shit, but this book actually manages to make the moral "stay on the rails at all times" semi-palatable. And it does it while being very lovely about Tootle (a more lovable precursor to Thomas the Tank Engine) playing in the field and making flower wreaths. It understands, in other words, and it wishes the war wasn't on, but it is.

ohhhhh this book. My kid loves this book. I am deeply annoyed by this book. The moral of the story is to LITERALLY STAY ON THE TRACK (determined by your benevolent overseers) and don't smell flowers with wild horses. wtf?

I'm told I adored this book as a toddler. The text is somewhat wordy for most very young children, but the illustrations are colorful and it's a book about trains, dammit! Some kids *love* trains. (Thanks, Thomas.) Tootle is a little locomotive in training at the station to become a big locomotive with a grown-up job. The cardinal rule if he hopes to become an Express Flyer: Stay On The Tracks No Matter What. But then he discovers butterflies and buttercups....

Tootle is a book about a little locomotive who is studying to become a Flyer between New York and Chicago. He must learn many lessons to be able to become a flyer. The most important lesson of all of them is Staying on the Rails No Matter What. Tootle has a hard time learning this lesson. He sees a horse who wants to race him, and tootle jumps off the tracks to race. Then he finds yellow buttercups and butterflies to play with in the meadow.

I really like this book. I loved it when my mom would read it to me as a child. I like the illustrations and the lessons it teaches. I think it is a really cute story.

I would use this book as part of a lesson on trains. I could also use this book with a lesson on rules. It is good to show why rules show more are important. show less

A classic from not only my daughter's childhood, but my own as well. My daddy was a railroad man, and this is one of the earliest books I remember. Tootle goes to Little Locomotive School and must learn to Stay on the Rails, No Matter What.

This story teaches children what will happen if they do not obey their parents or teachers. It teaches them a life lesson as well. This book is great for kindergarten through second grade.

A Little Golden Book, one of the cutest stories ever about following rules, staying in boundaries, etc.