The Cranky Old Reader

Yet another lovely old book for children which has been all but forgotten over the years - how sad!Roundabout Train is a small full-color hardcover picture book written by Betty Ren Wright. It's the story of the railway engines of Tinytown, and of an arrogant yellow diesel who comes to their town carrying a very haughty attitude. The trick that the oldest steam engine plays on the diesel is sure to make any child giggle.The book is suitable for children of all ages. Children who love trains will particularly love it. It's rather short, the ideal length for a bedtime story.It is, of course, hard to find these days; it has been out of print for many years. The two copies I've found are both in rather poor condition, which leads me to suspect that the binding was never particularly sturdy. Nonetheless, it's an extremely charming book. My parents read it to me when I was very young, and the images and story stuck in my head for decades - until one day I saw it in a local used book shop (which by coincidence is located right next to some train tracks) and grabbed it for my son. He called it "Robota Train" (he was only two or three years old), and it soon became one of his very favorite books.