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Please note: all products Squirrel Tracks Wooden Trains sells are for children (and grownups) ages 3 and up.
Everything we sell is compatible and interchangeable with the
BRIO® and Thomas & Friends™ brands of wooden trains and accessories.
| Our “Information and Ideas” Pages: The Basics, Layout Ideas, Layout Examples, Free Train Table Plans, Books about Trains, Famous Squirrels |
| • The Little Train by Lois Lenski | |
 | Lois Lenski wrote and illustrated a bunch of very popular books in the 1940s based on her “Mr. Small” character. In this book he is Engineer Small. In others he is Policeman Small, Cowboy Small, etc. Besides the appealing pictures and story, The Little Train is tops in our list because it takes the reader (or listener) on an everyday adventure in a train. We learn a little about steam locomotives and how they work, what the engineer and the other folks who work with trains do, and best of all, what trains do. Engineer Small backs his locomotive out of the roundhouse and then takes a passenger train with people, baggage and mail to the station in the big city. Before the trip he and Fireman Shorty load the locomotive’s tender with water and coal. Along the way they stop at signals and drawbridges, wave to people they pass, and pull off on a siding to let an express train go by. This book can really set the stage for creative play because it gives a child an overview of what trains do in a way that they can easily identify with and understand. Buy from Amazon: The Little Train $11.16 Buy from Barnes and Noble: |
| • Down by the Station by Will Hillenbrand | |
 | Will Hillenbrand may be better known as the illustrator of great books like Counting Crocodiles (by Judy Sierra). He wrote and illustrated this one and it makes for a very fun story. Based on the song "Down by the Station" (Down by the station/early in the morning/see the little pufferbellies/all in a row. See the engine driver/pull his little lever/puff puff, toot toot/off we go!), this book takes us for a ride on a train picking up all the baby animals to take them to the children’s zoo. Down by the Station is fairly light on train content, but still it demonstrates the basic idea that trains take people and animals and things from one place to another. That simple concept makes for hours and hours of fun with toy trains. Join the engine driver on his journey and sing along with a new verse for each animal on the way! Buy from Amazon: Down by the Station $11.20 Buy from Barnes and Noble: |
| • Here Comes the Train by Charlotte Voake | |
 | A father and his children go for a bike ride to the pedestrian bridge over the train tracks near their house. They have fun watching the fast trains zoom by with a toot and a rush of wind! We really like the ending where the little brother falls asleep that night to the sound of trains off in the distance. The illustrations and story are simple but compelling. Voake has nicely captured the uncomplicated excitement of seeing a big, wonderful, fast train speed past. Buy from Amazon: Here Comes the Train Not Available Buy from Barnes and Noble: |
| • What Do People Do All Day? by Richard Scarry | |
 | Oooh, we love Richard Scarry! This is a great book about what people do and, by extension, how the world works. Along with the many stories, including “Building a New Road”, “The Story of Seeds and How They Grow,” and “A Visit to the Hospital,” “The Train Trip” tells the story of the Pig family going on a trip to visit relatives. They ride in a sleeping car and eat in the dining car as the train travels to their destination. Richard Scarry has loads of details in his drawings, but keeps them fun and funny. Most everything is labelled so kids can learn what everything is called (including the “hooker upper” coupling the locomotive to the passenger train). “The Train Trip” takes a simple plot (taking a train to see relatives) and makes it a fun adventure. Buy from Amazon: Not Available Buy from Barnes and Noble: |
| • Thomas the Tank Engine: The Complete Collection by W.V. Awdry | |
 | This is a fascinating collection of the original books of the Reverend Awdry. According to the inside flap of the book, “Thomas the Tank Engine started life as a simple wooden toy made by the Reverend Wilbert Awdry for his young son, Christopher. Soon there were bedtime stories about Thomas, tales which complemented earlier favourites about Edward, Gordon and Henry. Wilbert Awdry had no thoughts of becoming an author, but he soon found that he had to write his stories down, if only to ensure that he didn’t make any mistakes on the numerous occasions he was required to re-tell them. After much encouragement, however, he eventually submitted his work to a literary agent and his first book The Three Railway Engines was published in 1945. Thomas was to make his first appearance in Thomas the Tank Engine the year after, and James the Red Engine followed in 1948.” It is a little amusing to us how contentious many of the plots of the individual stories are. But it should be no surprise that a reverend’s views from a half century ago on proper behavior may be different from ours today. They are still delightful stories! One fun thing about The Complete Collection is seeing the evolution of the illustrations. Three or four different people illustrated the books over the years, and they each brought a different flavor to the stories. There is quite a lot about train operations in this collection. In fact, Rev. Awdry must have been quite the train enthusiast; the later stories are packed with details on train operations neatly woven into familiar plots with the now-familiar characters. For little engineers, the stories in this collection provide endless scenarios for imaginative play. Buy from Amazon: Thomas the Tank Engine: The Complete Collection $24.99 Buy from Barnes and Noble: |
| • Trains and Railroads by Sydney Wood | |
 | Trains and Railroads is not really geared towards the youngest kids, but even a three-year-old would get a kick out of seeing the different pictures and hearing parts of the explanations. Older siblings and parents may enjoy this one, too. With lots of interesting tidbits about trains and their development from the earliest steam engines to bullet trains and subways, this book is a fun-to-read short history of trains. The detailed illustrations show trains throughout the years in real-world contexts so children can get an idea of how trains related to the times and the geographies where they operated. Buy from Amazon: Trains and Railroads $7.95 Buy from Barnes and Noble: |
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