Down by the Station

Jess Stockham
Child’s Play
Age 0-3

Down by the Station is a picture book is based on a traditional children’s song. It is designed as a single illustration of a village and farm landscape. A range of vehicles are revealed through cut outs as the pages are turned gradually filling the scene. There is a lot to talk about in the illustration and the words of the song and sound effects are fun to join in with.

Share the story

Read aloud
Read or sing the words of the book,

Join in
With the rhyme and with the sounds the vehicles make

Children can join in with singing or saying the rhyme

Talk about the book

What can you see through the cut outs?

Talk about all the things that are happening in the book, what are people doing?

Talk about all the different kinds of transport you can see.

Play find the train etc

Sing along with the song
Click here for the words.

Things to make and do

Play the story
Play with toy vehicles saying the words of the rhyme as you do. Put vehicles all in a row. Make some of the sounds in the story. us small figures or toys to make a queue of passengers

Make a busy transport scene
Use a big space and with toy vehicles and figures and building bricks or blocks to set up a busy transport scene like the story with your child.

Make junk model cars or trucks

Out and about
Look out for different types of transport.

Find out more

There are many railway journeys on Youtube
This one is from Charing Cross station in London to Sidcup

 From Travels in India, London & the UK

The Docklands Light Railway from Beckton to Limehouse in London – a front seat view.

From Christopher Beaumont