Jingle The Brass Book

"Climb aboard and ride the point!"

Step back in time to Ruby's rail-yard hash house and put on the nosebag with the boss hogger. He'll tell you he likes his eggs with headlights, but if you want scrambled, just order wreck on the main line. Follow him as he and his ashcat warm up engine number 417 at the roundhouse, give her a drink at the water tower, and then hitch her up to a jigger. Then jingle the brass and ride the point. Soon the rods will be flashing, because now you're railroading!

Rhythmic text and busy, detail-filled pictures make learning train lingo loads of fun in this picture book that transports readers back to the heyday of steam locomotion.

Publishers Weekly

Newman, making her debut, and Chesworth (Alphaboat) prove that what's compelling about vintage railroads is not just the majesty of the massive, coal-eating locomotives nor the thrill of barreling through the countryside. No, it's the feeling of being immersed in a world unto itself with a language all its own-a world that knows milk as "whitewash," and the man who stokes the engine's fire as an "ashcat." (The title argot refers to the command to ring the locomotive's brass bell.) It's 1926, and readers meet a boy who has been offered the enviable opportunity to tag along on the run of a mile-long "jigger" ("the heaviest train allowed on the line") with a seasoned "hogger" (engineer). Newman's text unspools as a lingo-filled monologue by the wizened engineer; she smoothly weaves in more than 50 railroading words and phrases, while providing an insider's view of working on the rails all the livelong day. Chesworth's sepia-toned watercolors strike a nice balance between entertaining and educating. On one spread, he shows a cartoonish railroad policeman (aka "bulls") literally booting hoboes off the top of the train as it passes over a trestle (the tramps splash down harmlessly); a few pages later, there's a handsome portrait of the locomotive at top speed, a blur of steam, sparks and black iron. Readers will undoubtedly demand a return trip very soon. Ages 4-8. (Sept.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.