Runaway Train: Saved by Belle of the Mines & Mountains

Gr 2–4—This series presents various episodes of American history through stage plays. Comprised entirely of dialogue, the books are told from the perspectives of elderly people reflecting on their youthful adventures, including 19th-century steam train worker Bella Lee Dunkinson and explorer Patrick Gass of the Lewis and Clark expedition. One-page introductions provide relevant historical context, along with a "Cast of Characters" listing. The format necessitates elements of fictionalization, which the books indicate. Some readers may become confused when the dialogue switches quickly between the older narrator's voice and the depicted historical episode. Yet overall, these engaging and creative offerings succeed, introducing important people, events, and inventions in a lively, dramatic way. More difficult vocabulary words are set in bold and defined in glossaries. Each volume features a different illustrator, which gives the series a diverse aesthetic. Todd's linocuts present the Hudson River of 1807 in brilliant abstraction, while Jacobsen's smooth pastels bring Lewis and Clark's expedition to life, and Renaud's fluid lines give vibrant motion to a chugging steam train. These works encourage group reading, with different readers assuming different parts.