Fern and the Fiery Dragon (The Railway Rabbits)

This latest title in the lively ‘The Railway Rabbits’ series tells the story of what seems to be a fire on the railway. The rabbits move into action, but is the ‘dragon’, the fiery red steam engine, really to blame? The book is organised in seven chapters and would be a good choice for a parent or nursery teacher to read aloud to the very young while confident readers over about six would manage to read the story themselves. The attractive black and white drawings that appear on nearly every page add to the enjoyment of the book and show the personalities of the little rabbits in the Longears family. Good use of dialogue also helps with characterisation.  Like the best writers of animal stories for the young – including Beatrix Potter and Alison Uttley –  this writer does not  use unnaturally short sentences, nor does she restrict vocabulary; and so we have words like ‘organise’, ‘preparation’, ‘important’ and ‘excitement’ as well as those appropriate to a railway context like ‘embankment’,  ‘footplate’, ‘boiler’ and ‘signal’.  I like the occasional variation in print size and orientation to indicate movement and loud noises.  Children soon learn that in stories animals sometimes talk and wear clothes, but they still show some of the characteristics of the creatures they represent. For example the fear small animals feel when a buzzard, dog or other possible predator approaches comes over well. There is enough action and suspense in the story to keep up children’s interest and concentration.