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Hamish Takes the Train

Illustrated by Daisy Hirst
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Hardcover
$16.99 US
8.88"W x 10.81"H x 0.38"D   | 14 oz | 38 per carton
On sale Sep 01, 2020 | 40 Pages | 978-1-5362-1659-2
Age 3-7 years | Preschool - 2
additional book photo
additional book photo
Trains, cranes, good friends—with warmth and whimsy, Daisy Hirst follows an adventurous bear and a home-loving goose who discover that new experiences are even better shared.

Hamish the bear and Noreen the goose live in the country, where they like to watch the trains whoosh by. While Noreen is happy to stay in the country, Hamish can’t help but wonder what it would be like to ride the train into the city. So one day he says goodbye to Noreen and sets off along the tracks. Hamish’s ride on the train takes him to new places, where he meets new friends and even gets a job on a construction site. Before long, though, Hamish realizes how much he misses his home and Noreen. From Daisy Hirst, the award-winning author-illustrator of The Girl with a Parrot on Her Head, here is a warm and friendly story about finding adventure and then finding your way home again.
With loose, softly colored pencil and ink renderings that carry out an offbeat, reflective mood, Hirst (Alphonse, That Is Not OK to Do!) opens up the possibility that life, like the world Hamish sees from the crane, is big enough to accommodate all kinds of choices.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

This there-and-back-again tale is surely worth the ride.
—Kirkus Reviews

A sweet and charming story, this title excels in showing how the best of friends allow each other the space to pursue their own happiness...For larger picture book collections, the lesson that adventures are always richer when friends are along for the ride never grows old.
—School Library Journal

In this tale of home versus away, Hamish, a long-nosed bear, hankers to take the train to the city...a celebration of life’s abundant possibilities.
—The Horn Book
Daisy Hirst is the author-illustrator of The Girl with the Parrot on Her Head, Hilda and the Runaway Baby, and three picture books about monster siblings Natalie and Alphonse. She received an MA in children’s book illustration from the Cambridge School of Art. Daisy Hirst lives in Cambridge, England.

Photos

additional book photo
additional book photo

About

Trains, cranes, good friends—with warmth and whimsy, Daisy Hirst follows an adventurous bear and a home-loving goose who discover that new experiences are even better shared.

Hamish the bear and Noreen the goose live in the country, where they like to watch the trains whoosh by. While Noreen is happy to stay in the country, Hamish can’t help but wonder what it would be like to ride the train into the city. So one day he says goodbye to Noreen and sets off along the tracks. Hamish’s ride on the train takes him to new places, where he meets new friends and even gets a job on a construction site. Before long, though, Hamish realizes how much he misses his home and Noreen. From Daisy Hirst, the award-winning author-illustrator of The Girl with a Parrot on Her Head, here is a warm and friendly story about finding adventure and then finding your way home again.

Praise

With loose, softly colored pencil and ink renderings that carry out an offbeat, reflective mood, Hirst (Alphonse, That Is Not OK to Do!) opens up the possibility that life, like the world Hamish sees from the crane, is big enough to accommodate all kinds of choices.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

This there-and-back-again tale is surely worth the ride.
—Kirkus Reviews

A sweet and charming story, this title excels in showing how the best of friends allow each other the space to pursue their own happiness...For larger picture book collections, the lesson that adventures are always richer when friends are along for the ride never grows old.
—School Library Journal

In this tale of home versus away, Hamish, a long-nosed bear, hankers to take the train to the city...a celebration of life’s abundant possibilities.
—The Horn Book

Author

Daisy Hirst is the author-illustrator of The Girl with the Parrot on Her Head, Hilda and the Runaway Baby, and three picture books about monster siblings Natalie and Alphonse. She received an MA in children’s book illustration from the Cambridge School of Art. Daisy Hirst lives in Cambridge, England.