Chug Chug, Little Train
Chug Chug, Little Train
by ReadRead · 5 min readTuck is too tired to get up the big hill, so his friends hop down and push. A story about helping each other, with a dark tunnel and a happy whistle.
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Tuck is a little red train with a shiny whistle on top. Today he takes Hen, Pig and Lamb to a picnic over the hills. Halfway up the big hill, Tuck gets too tired and stops. His friends hop down and push, and sing him all the way to the top. Then comes a dark tunnel, and Lamb is scared.
The new words in this book
To go along with a slow, puffing, working sound. It comes up 8 times, and every time Tuck really rocks along puffing round clouds of steam.
A high, sweet sound made by blowing. It comes up 8 times: Tuck’s brass whistle, a bird in a tree, a kettle and Lamb.
The line “Chug, chug, little train!” comes back again and again, so a pre-reader can say it along by page four. Every other word is a common word, like hill, tunnel, station, push and help.
Questions to ask while you read
Pause after each spread and ask one question. There are no right answers; the point is to get your child talking.
- 1What does Tuck have on top?
- 2Where are Hen, Pig and Lamb going?
- 3What can you hear in the fields?
- 4Why does Tuck stop on the hill?
- 5How do his friends help him?
- 6How does Tuck feel at the top?
- 7Why is Lamb scared? What does Tuck do?
- 8What can Lamb see now?
- 9Tap and find: who can chug and who can whistle?
- 10Who helps you when something is hard?
How hard is this book?
About 250 words, sentences of 6–8 words, dialogue.
- Dialogue × 7“All aboard!” says Tuck.
- Not / no × 2Oh no! Tuck stops.
- Will / going to × 1Today Hen, Pig and Lamb are going to a picnic.
- Contractions × 1“I don’t like the dark,” says Lamb.
- Bigger / biggest × 1Tuck chugs up, slower and slower.
All 110 words, most used first
the 15 · and 11 · a 9 · whistle 8 · chug 7 · little 6 · toot 6 · says 5 · to 5 · can 4 · they 4 · train 4 · up 4 · at 3 · down 3 · go 3 · he 3 · i 3 · into 3 · is 3 · station 3 · am 2 · big 2 · bird 2 · blows 2 · come 2 · dark 2 · everyone 2 · friends 2 · goes 2 · happy 2 · hello 2 · hill 2 · hills 2 · his 2 · hop 2 · picnic 2 · slower 2 · soft 2 · sun 2 · there 2 · too 2 · top 2 · we 2 · aboard · all · are · back · begin · bright · by · chugs · don't · every · eyes · fields · from · gives · going · good · has · help · her · here · home · hops · in · last · laughs · like · loud · make · morning · night · no · oh · on · one · opens · out · over · past · push · red · rolls · round · say · sheep · shiny · sing · sings · sleepy · stops · takes · tap · thank · them · then · tired · today · together · tree · tuck's · tunnel · wagons · waits · wants · what · wheels · you
Names don’t count: the picture shows who it is.
Tips for parents
- First time: use Read to me and let your child just listen and watch.
- Say the refrain together: “Chug, chug, little train!” Clap on each chug.
- Before the push page, stop and ask “How can the friends help Tuck?” Let them guess.
- Play it for real: be a train around the room, chugging slowly uphill and whistling at the top.