Where Have All the Cabooses Gone?
About ten years ago, my son and I were stopped at a railroad crossing, waiting for a freight train to pass. As the last car went by, he looked at me and asked, “Why isn’t there a caboose at the end of this train?”
All the children’s books we read had red cabooses at the end.
It was a good question. Where had all the cabooses gone?
That question followed us home. We pulled out construction paper and markers and started writing a story about where the red caboose went.
We drew pictures. We did some research. We wrote the words by hand. We used a ribbon to tie the pages together.
And then, as things made with children often do, Where Have All the Cabooses Gone? disappeared into a closet.
Until I recently found it, almost ten years later.
Now, the little boy who had wondered where all the cabooses had gone is almost nineteen.
There was something about finding that homemade book that I couldn’t quite let go of. Maybe it was nostalgia. Maybe it was the reminder of how naturally children ask the questions adults have stopped asking. Or maybe it was simply the realization that this little story we had made together all those years ago deserved to leave the closet.
So, I decided to turn it into a real book.
And this week, as my son turns nineteen, Where Have All the Cabooses Gone? is out in the world.
Happy 19th birthday, Austin. I’m so glad you asked about the caboose.
You are a pilot and a published author.
To see all the books in my collection, click here.