All Aboard · 338 titles considered

The Best Train Books for Kids

By the Bookroo Editors
Updated July 27, 2026

A train is several childhood obsessions coupled together: a machine big enough to shake the ground, a line of cars that can be counted, a whistle that carries farther than the train can be seen, and tracks that promise a definite somewhere else. Even the vocabulary is satisfying. Tender, sleeper, switch, signal, caboose — each word gives a child one more part of the enormous system to notice from a platform, a crossing, or the back seat of a car stopped at the gates.

Drawing from Bookroo’s collection of 338 train books, our editors chose thirteen that keep the railways at the center: sturdy first books, two Caldecott winners and a Caldecott Honor, true stories of subway inventors and Pullman porters, a child mailed by train across Idaho, and mysteries for readers ready to travel without a grown-up. Start with the shortlist below, then browse the age shelves or follow the related topics into subways, steam engines, stations, and railroad history.

Locomotive
Overground Railroad
The Shortlist

Our 13 Favorite Train Books

Sale price
$958
Board Book · Ages 2–5 · 1978

Freight Train

By Donald Crews

Seven bright freight cars gather speed until the whole train becomes a streak of color.

Caldecott Honor (1979)
26 pages
Best for
A toddler’s first real train book
4.0/7 Bookroo·4.1/5 Goodreads · 17,092 ratings
$9.99Save 4%
Board book
Picture Book · Ages 4–10 · 2013

Locomotive

A family boards the new transcontinental railroad in 1869 and rides west toward the Pacific.

64 pages· 2,616 words· Est. 21 min read-aloud
Best for
Children who want to know how the railroad worked
4.8/7 Bookroo·4.1/5 Goodreads · 6,217 ratings
$19.99Save 5%
Hardcover
Picture Book · Ages 5–8 · 1985

The Polar Express

On Christmas Eve, a train appears in the street and carries one wakeful child north through the snow.

32 pages· 910 words· Est. 7 min read-aloud
Best for
A winter read-aloud with room for wonder
6.4/7 Bookroo·4.3/5 Goodreads · 250,028 ratings
$21.99Save 5%
Hardcover
Board Book · Ages 0–3 · 1930

The Little Engine That Could

A stranded train full of toys needs one engine willing to pull it over the mountain.

26 pages· 1,114 words· Est. 9 min read-aloud
Best for
Preschoolers practicing the phrase “I think I can”
4.6/7 Bookroo·4.2/5 Goodreads · 117,730 ratings
$14.99Save 7%
Board book
Board Book · Ages 2–4 · 2013

Steam Train, Dream Train

At bedtime, bears, monkeys, elephants, and dinosaurs load one impossible freight train.

32 pages
Best for
The train-obsessed child who still needs to go to sleep
5.6/7 Bookroo·4.2/5 Goodreads · 3,968 ratings
$8.99Save 5%
Board book
Picture Book · Ages 4–8 · 2016

The Secret Subway

By Shana Corey, Red Nose Studio (Illustrator)

An inventor secretly builds a fan-powered railway beneath the crowded streets of 1860s New York.

40 pages· 1,202 words· Est. 10 min read-aloud
Best for
The child asking what was under the city before the subway
5.6/7 Bookroo·4.1/5 Goodreads · 1,072 ratings
$19.99Save 5%
Hardcover
Picture Book · Ages 4–8 · 2020

Overground Railroad

A Black family rides the Silver Meteor north during the Great Migration, carrying one room’s worth of hopes.

48 pages· 901 words· Est. 7 min read-aloud
Best for
Connecting railroad travel to the Great Migration
5.5/7 Bookroo·4.3/5 Goodreads · 966 ratings
$18.99Save 5%
Hardcover
Picture Book · Ages 4–8 · 1997

Mailing May

In 1914, five-year-old May is mailed fifty-three miles by train to visit her grandmother.

32 pages· 1,111 words· Est. 9 min read-aloud
Best for
A true story strange enough to beat fiction
4.2/5 Goodreads · 840 ratings
$7.99Save 5%
Paperback
Picture Book · Ages 4–7 · 1936

Choo Choo

A proud little locomotive abandons her schedule for one glorious, disastrous runaway day.

48 pages· 1,250 words· Est. 10 min read-aloud
Best for
Children who like their engines noisy and badly behaved
3.9/5 Goodreads · 901 ratings
$17.99Save 6%
Hardcover
Picture Book · Ages 5–8 · 2014

The Pullman Porter

By Vanita Oelschlager, Mike Blanc (Illustrator)

The story of the Black railroad workers who carried news, organized a union, and helped change American politics.

44 pages
Best for
Introducing railroad labor and civil rights history
4.3/7 Bookroo·4.0/5 Goodreads · 82 ratings
$15.95Save 6%
Hardcover
Picture Book · Ages 4–7 · 1971

The Caboose Who Got Loose

A caboose tired of smoke and noise finally gets loose — and lands exactly where she hoped.

48 pages· 1,333 words· Est. 11 min read-aloud
Best for
Rhyming read-alouds and caboose loyalists
5.3/7 Bookroo·4.2/5 Goodreads · 1,697 ratings
$10.99Save 5%
Paperback
Chapter Book · Ages 9–12 · 1906

The Railway Children

Three children move beside a railway and discover that the trains may help bring their missing father home.

272 pages· 59,451 words· Est. 6.5 hour read
Best for
A family read-aloud ready for a full-length classic
4.0/5 Goodreads · 64,290 ratings
Bookroo Collection Edition: Hardcover
Chapter Book · Ages 10–14 · 2020

The Highland Falcon Thief

A jewel disappears aboard the royal train, and every passenger has to remain a suspect until the final stop.

272 pages· 51,503 words· Est. 5.5 hour read
Best for
A first proper mystery and the start of a series
4.3/5 Goodreads · 3,081 ratings
$12.99Save 4%
Paperback
The Bookroo Book Club

Great books, picked for their age.

Books worth reading again and again, delivered to your door.

Find their book club
Bookroo book club box
Browse by age

Train Board Books for Babies & Toddlers

Freight cars, bedtime trains, first train words, and plenty of chugging for ages 0–4.

The Little Red Caboose

Ages 2–5 · 1953

A caboose dreams of being as admired as the steam engine.

Series
Sale price
$1199

All Aboard! Pacific Northwest

Ages 0–3 · 2017

Embark on a train journey through the Pacific Northwest's wonders.

Sale price
$1099

That's Not My Train...

Ages 0–3 · 2000

A mouse seeks his perfect train amidst a puzzling array.

Steam Train, Dream Train Colors

Ages 2–5 · 2016

Join a colorful train journey with lively animals and learn colors through rhymes.

Moo Moo, Choo Choo

Ages 0–3

No book description provided.

Sale price
$1199

All Aboard! California

Ages 0–3 · 2015

Embark on a global train adventure with your little one.

Sale price
$1199

All Aboard! Paris

Ages 0–3 · 2015

Embark on a train journey exploring cities with your little one.

Steam Train, Dream Train 1-2-3

Ages 2–5 · 2016

Join animal friends on a dreamy train counting adventure.

My Big Train Book

Ages 0–4 · 2003

Explore the world of trains with captivating photos for young readers.

Choo-Choo Colors
Sale price
$699

Choo-Choo Colors

Ages 0–3

Discover the secrets hidden in each train car.

The Goodnight Train

Ages 2–4 · 2006

Embark on a whimsical train ride to dreamland.

Maisy's Train

Ages 2–5 · 2002

Join a joyful train ride through hills and tunnels.

View all train board books
Browse by age

Train Picture Books

Runaway engines, cross-country journeys, subway tunnels, railroad history, and stories built for reading aloud — ages 3–9.

Bunnies on the Bus

Ages 3–6 · 2019

A group of bunnies cause chaos on a bus and then a train.

When Jackie Saved Grand Central

Ages 3–7 · 2017

A New Yorker fights to save Grand Central from a skyscraper threat.

Chugga-Chugga Choo-Choo

Ages 2–5 · 1999

A train's journey unfolds with unexpected adventures.

The Man With the Violin

Ages 5–8 · 2013

A boy tries to make his mom notice a subway violinist's enchanting music.

I Knew You Could!

Ages 3–7 · 2003

A little engine inspires graduates to embrace new beginnings with determination.

Here Comes the Train

Ages 2–5 · 1998

A family awaits the thrilling arrival of a train.

Silver Packages

Ages 5–8 · 1987

A boy's hope for a special gift reveals the true meaning of Christmas.

Our Subway Baby

Ages 4–8 · 2020

A baby found in a subway finds a loving family.

Trucker and Train

Ages 4–7 · 2019

A big rig faces a choice: continue bullying or embrace kindness when a crisis hits.

Milo Imagines the World

Ages 4–8 · 2021

A subway ride reveals that appearances can be deceiving.

Railway Jack

Ages 8–12 · 2020

A legless inspector and a baboon must prove their teamwork to skeptical authorities.

A Treasury of Curious George

Ages 4–7 · 2004

Join a curious monkey on adventures filled with mischief and discovery.

Browse by age

Train Chapter Books & Middle Grade Adventures

Railway classics, historic journeys, magical expresses, and closed-carriage mysteries for readers ages 6–14.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Ages 9–12 · 2007

A hidden life in a Paris station unravels with a cryptic message.

The Box-Car Children

Ages 7–10

Four orphaned children run away from their grandfather and live in a boxcar, where they learn to fend for themselves and have many adventures.

Sabotage on the Solar Express

Ages 10–14 · 2024

A young sleuth races to stop a train sabotage before disaster strikes.

Danger at Dead Man's Pass

Ages 10–14 · 2022

A young detective faces a family curse and haunted railway mystery.

Kidnap on the California Comet

Ages 10–14 · 2020

A missing billionaire's daughter on a train sparks a race against time.

The Silver Arrow

Ages 8–12 · 2020

A birthday gift steam locomotive whisks siblings on a magical, world-saving adventure.

The Train to Impossible Places

Ages 7–12 · 2018

A girl must choose between saving a friend or risking everything on a magical train journey.

Sale price
$599

Trouble on the Orphan Train

Ages 8–12 · 2016

Time-traveling kids must clear an orphan's name and find a missing friend.

Graphic Nov.
Sale price
$1699

The Sound of Colors

Ages 6–9 · 2001

A woman seeks healing on subway rides with her dog.

Kate Shelley and the Midnight Express

Ages 7–10 · 1990

A storm-damaged bridge, a midnight train, and a race against time to save lives.

Sale price
$899

First Class Murder

Ages 8–12 · 2015

A murder on the Orient Express. Can two young detectives solve it before the killer strikes again?

How to Get Away with Myrtle

Ages 10–13 · 2020

A vanished tiara, a murder, and a young detective on a train. Can she solve the mystery?

Keep exploring
Books about transportationBooks about vehiclesSubwaysRailroad historySteam enginesTrain stationsPublic transportationBooks about travelBooks about busesBooks about carsBooks about airplanesCity and town life

Bookroo

Book Clubs

Follow Bookroo