Book of the Week: Down By the Station

We’re continuing our transportation theme with this week’s Book of the Week.

Based on the popular children’s song, Down By the Station, illustrated by Jess Stockholm, takes a lively tour of the train station, visiting engines, buses, taxis and more. Your child will bounce along to the familiar tune while enjoying the colourful illustrations.

The history of this song is an interesting one. According to Wikipedia, it was first written down by jazz legend Slim Gaillard and Lee Ricks in 1948, though the lyrics appear to be older than that. The song was made popular by Tommy Dorsey. Hear his version here—slightly different than the Sharon, Lois and Bram version most of us are familiar with!

(And in case you are wondering, “pufferbelly” is an old, informal word for a steam locomotive.)

(Via)