Trains: 11/17/06
I have always liked trains. They have been a part of my life since the very beginning. My grandparents lived on the ridge of Rose Canyon in San Diego. On the canyon's floor a single track connects San Diego with points north as it winds its way through the canyon and in behind Mira Mesa, thereby circumventing the Miramar Navy base.

For my entire childhood, my maternal grandmother's home was my day care and after school place to go. When I was Sean's age, grandmother and I would run out to the back fence when we'd hear a train blow its horn. I would stand on a red chair (now in Sean's room) and stare out to the tracks to catch a glimpse of the train. Sometimes it was an Amtrak train but often times it was a freight train. The freight trains were the best because they were so colorful.

When I was in college, my main mode of transportation for the holidays was Amtrak between Del Mar and Santa Barbara. Then as a young newly wed, again I was riding the train, this time between Los Angeles and Solano (the Del Mar station had closed).

So when Sean and his friend Connor had picked out Trains by Byron Barton, I was thrilled. Trains, though just a children's board book, captures the excitement and magic of traveling by train. It goes through a typical day on a train, each beautifully illustrated in a bold style that young children will enjoy.

Sean the Self Reliant:
I'm so happy that Sean is old enough to get himself ready in the morning. On Fridays I have to take him to school by nine. I have to work from 7:30 until at least 8:00, doing the morning publish for out client. In this time from when Sean gets up to when we leave (usually around 8:30), Sean has to get dressed, eat breakfast, brush his teeth, get his lunch, get his socks and shoes on, and get his jacket on. I also have to get Harriet changed and fed. So it's a busy morning. Thankfully now I can walk Sean through the steps and he'll do them without needing supervision.

Steps: 7000