ALL ABOARD FOR DREAMLAND!

“All aboard for Dreamland!” is the clarion call of this rhythmic bedtime read-aloud that opens with a giant megaphone blaring out a wavy set of railroad tracks. Train purists, though, will have to use their imaginations, as the first vehicle on the track is a white unicorn on wheels, transporting a motley crew of beaming, big-nosed passengers. The magical mystery train transmogrifies next into a series of wheeled buildings: “Full steam ahead to Wiggletown! / We zoom down Zig Zag Hill, / winding ’round and upside down / till no one can sit still.” As the train chugs through the land of Strrrretch (“Chugga-chugga chuckle!”), a taffy-like pink elephant tickles its ears with its toes. As in many bedtime stories, the illustrations optimistically invoke the power of suggestion; the characters get sleepy and close their eyes as the train heads into “the drowsy town of Yawwwwwn.” Valério’s brightly colored, stylized paintings, textured with visible brushstrokes and the occasional cutout piece of graph paper, are just jaunty enough to fuel this giddy trip to Dreamland. (Picture book. 2-4)