Night Night, Train by Amy Parker

Night Night, Train is a unique children's tale following a family of dogs taking a trip to Sleepytown and all the things they see and do along the way.

At first, I was a little confused by the structure of the page. Each set of pages has two sections of text. One is in simple rhyming pairs of to the side of the  page. The other is a large block of text giving a more detail account of the dog's train based adventures. I was a little confused as the differing structures and rhyme schemes do not lend themselves to easily move from one segment to the next. However, separately they are brilliant. The easier rhyming section is perfect for my two year old's love of rhythm and shorter attention span while the larger story section fits my older child's skill and interest. While I'm not sure if that was the intended purpose it makes this book far more interesting for our whole family (especially as Mama and Daddy aren't reading the identical text every time, hurrah for variety)

The pictures really set the stage no matter how the story is read. With bright, inviting colours Night Night, Train welcomes kids into the story. I especially enjoyed how there were multiple pictures highlighting the exterior and showing kids exactly how the train looks. As Mom to a train obsessed kiddo it's surprising how often train books don't include good pictures of the train itself and as my 4 year old will tell you that's kind of the point.

For readers looking for a strong biblical lesson, this won't be your book.  Although a Tommy Nelson book, Biblical matters are mentioned in only two places choosing to focus more on the train adventure than anything more consequential.

That said, once you get over the differing structure schemes of the text Night Night Train proves to be a charming bedtime adventure that will help your kids get ready for bed.

Mama gives 3.5 stars while my little one gives it 4.5 stars out of 5 because, well, trains :)

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers <http://booklookbloggers.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.