Steeeeeamboat A-Comin!

By Jill Esbaum
Pictures by Adam Rex

     The mighty steamboat is a major trademark of the most inventive forms of transportation to hit the water of the great Mississippi during the mid-19th century. Jill Esbaum shows the excitement and true awesomeness of the arrival of a steamboat to a town in her book Steeeeeamboat A-Comin! Using short rhyming verses, Esbaum creates a rhythmical read that moves perfectly, with the bright, action-filled illustrations.

      I’m always a fan of using rhyme as a way to get children into the rhythm of a certain setting or subject, and Esbaum has done it wonderfully. The full-page illustrations by Adam Rex are marvelous and really pull the reader into the rhythm and rhyme even more.