The blueberry train / C.L.G. Martin ; illustrated by Angela Trotta Thomas.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A young boy wants to go to pick blueberries all by himself to prove to his mother that he is not a baby any longer.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

School Library Journal Review

PreS-Gr 2‘Used to being treated like a little boy, Louis is surprised when his mother allows him to take the train to the mountains to pick blueberries by himself. He wants to earn enough money to buy long pants in order to look grown-up. After a sleepless night, he is joined on the train by a lady and boy with covered faces. Once at his destination, he wanders off by himself and meets a baby bear and its ferocious mother. He is helped by the mysterious lady and boy, who turn out to be his own mother and brother. While Mother agrees he was very brave, she tells him that he will always be her baby. Thomas's illustrations capture the nostalgic feeling of turn-of-the-century Minnesota with soft colors, period dress, and detailed settings. The train is sleek and beautiful with clouds of smoke. The bear is realistically scary, but the faces of the main characters aren't entirely consistent from page to page. A pleasant story about bygone days showing the universality of a boy longing to be grown up and a mother who will always love her child even when he wears long pants.‘Martha Gordon, formerly at South Salem Library, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Horn Book Review

In an old-fashioned story, Louis persuades his mother and older brother that he's old enough to ride solo on the train that transports people from town to the blueberry fields. The little mystery of the heavily muffled strangers -- a woman and a young man -- who befriend Louis on his trip is transparent yet satisfying. The paintings have energy and pleasing shifts in perspective. From HORN BOOK 1995, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.