Where do the trains go?
There and back.
Let’s sing a train song
All down the track.

Toddlers and babies love trains and the noises they make. Listen Up! Train Song uses repeating verse and bright photographs to match this enthusiasm with a unique take on the conceptual sound book that is perfect for reading aloud. Each spread uses onomatopoeia to highlight the ting-a ling! of subway door chimes, the chuff-a-gruff-a! of a diesel engine, and more. And after the children have sung along through the colorful pages, a final note to caregivers offers enriching, age-appropriate activities to keep building their child’s foundational learning skills.

Playing with sounds and rhythms is a first step to language development. With repetitive, easy-to-remember verse from the award-winning author of Nat the Cat Can Sleep Like That and Shape Up, Construction Trucks!, Victoria Allenby’s Listen Up! Train Song invites its young audience to recognize the songs of the railway and to proudly sing their own.

“Train lovers will delight in this book featuring photos of trains….[A] perfect match for story hours about things that go. The back matter provides three developmentally appropriate activities and prompts to increase and extend engagement with children, making this a first purchase for the shelves.” —School Library Journal★ Starred Review

Victoria Allenby has been writing poetry and stories for as long as she can remember. Her debut picture book, Nat the Cat Can Sleep Like That, won the 2014 Preschool Reads Award and was nominated for the 2015 SYRCA Shining Willow Award. She has followed up the success of this debut with the critically acclaimed early readers Timo's Garden, Timo's Party, and Timo Goes Camping, as well as several picture books, including Shape Up, Construction Trucks! which has earned multiple starred reviews, and the 2021 title Listen Up! Train Song. Victoria lives in Toronto, Ontario.

Victoria Allenby's profile page

• Commended, CCBC Spring Best Books for Kids & Teens

Praise for Listen Up! Train Song

2023 Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Best Books for Babies list selection

2022 CCBC Spring Best Books for Kids & Teens Selection

The Children’s Book Council “Hot off the Press: October 2022” Feature

★ STARRED REVIEW “Train lovers will delight in this book featuring photos of trains. [A] perfect match for story hours about things that go. The back matter provides three developmentally appropriate activities and prompts to increase and extend engagement with children, making this a first purchase for the shelves.” —School Library Journal Starred Review

"Locomotive-loving storytimers rejoice! Your newest read-aloud is here....Participation possibilities abound with the consistently inventive train sounds, and the bright and colorful images will be easy to see from across a room....All aboard! The littlest readers with a yen for the rails are bound to bounce with delight."—Kirkus Reviews

“The title is well-suited to reading out loud in story time settings as the text is rhythmic and repetitive, yet there is enough variety to interest young listeners from page to page… The text is greatly enhanced by the full-colour photographs which are rich in detail and successfully depict movement.”—CM Magazine

“An excellent way to introduce rhyming to young readers. [A] perfect read to pair with a hands-on activity. Similar to other books in this series the author also provides … ways that parents and educators can deepen the learning process with this book.” —Youth Services Book Review

“Calling all Train fans! This sturdy board book is filled with vibrant photographs of different types of trains…This book starts as a fun read for train lovers and can be extended to a vocabulary or musical exercise. It is a great addition to preschool books about trains.”—YA Books Central

“Allenby’s book encourages participation and imagination, singing, and practicing rhyming… a solid, participatory read, and a highly recommended companion title for any young readers who love transportation or train books, or who have loved Shape Up, Construction Trucks!.”—Fab Book Reviews

“With kids often fascinated by trains, this book is sure to appeal to many.”—Canadian Bookworm

“A story to share aloud, teaching the importance of rhyme and rhythm in poetry while having fun with onomatopoeia.”—The International Educator

“With bright colors and large crisp photographs of trains in all sorts of situations, this is sure to be a hit with little ones… This book would work great in a transportation or train themed storytime.”—Alissa Tsuparikos, Goodreads

“Excellent storytime book for young children…Close up pictures show the train parts being talked about in each rhyme, helping young children visualize just what makes each noise.”—Andrea, Goodreads

“Absolutely gorgeous photo illustrations that the younger set and grownups too will love…. Great use of onomatopoeia with train sounds.”—Amanda, Goodreads