When the little wooden train picks up, first, Mrs Elephant, then Mr Bear and finally Mrs Walrus, the driver is full of foreboding. His train cannot possibly carry such weighty passengers up to town. But it does. He warns them not to overdo the shopping or they will never complete the return journey but they take no notice and as the little train chugs homewards it has a preposterous load. When Mrs Elephant sneezes, disaster of the worst kind happens; the train falls apart. But the ingenious animals are able to turn calamity into an unexpected surprise picnic for everyone. The day ends on a happy note.

 

There are 32 pages in this book. This is a picture book. A picture book uses pictures and text to tell the story. The number of words varies from zero ('wordless') to around 1k over 32 pages. Picture books are typically aimed at young readers (age 3-6) but can also be aimed at older children (7+). This book was published 2002 by Random House Children's Publishers UK .

Chris Wormell lives in North London with his wife and children. He was the winner of the Ragazza Prize at Bologna in 1991 and the Smarties Bronze Award in 2003. In addition to his children's books, Chris undertakes other illustration work including advertising campaigns, packaging and, issued in January 2005, a set of stamps featuring farmyard animals for the Royal Mall.