The Silver Arrow

Imaginative Story about Environmentalism Audiobook Review: What an imaginative and fun book for kids! I found this to be so creative. Young Kate writes to her uncle requesting a gift for her birthday. He brings a very unusual one, a proper train called the Silver Arrow. Then the real adventure begins! She and her younger brother, Tom, take the train on some tracks—the train seems to have a mind of its own and just starts going places—and they start picking up talking animals. The train knows where to go, and at one point, starts teaching the children about how to work it. The animals have very distinct personalities, and the train seems to take them to platforms all over the world; various animals leave the train at certain points. The book turns more serious and environmentally minded, as we learn that these animals are relocating because their native habitats have been endangered by humans. This upsets Kate and Tom, and they want to help. So they keep delivering animals with the train to different places. They even take one animal to a station in the sky because it has no place to go. For the most part, I thought this book taught the environmental lessons well without being preachy or making the children listening feel too bad about humanity’s role in the destruction of nature, but instead, empowered to help make change. When the animals on the train let the children know what is truly going on, they state that humans can do great things when they decide to. A few other points were certainly more grandstanding about what humans do wrong in this regard. Some children and parents might find these moments too uncomfortable. Depending on the age of the child or children (and their empathy level) reading or listening, she or he might feel bad. I listened to the audiobook version, and I liked the narrator, who did an excellent job with the voices for the different creatures. He was able to make them sound distinct. There is a fair amount of humor in this book, making me laugh out loud at times. I like the way, too, that the author showed the relationship between older sister Kate and younger brother Tom. Sometimes they get annoyed with each other, but they also care for each other—very much like real siblings. The book is so imaginative, funny in places, and so well narrated that I think both parents and children would enjoy listening to it together. I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.