A Young girl leaves her home for the first time to pay her aunt a visit, but gets caught alone in a runaway train, which takes her to a magical land.
Meh. A product of its time and genre. Flat characters skipping along in a plot that is just one silly thing after another, clearly meant to entertain the very young with no real appeal to audiences older than, say, 8. ( )

A lovely little piece of fantasy. I look forward to reading the rest of his books. ( )

Rather delightful, in the dreamlike vein of Alice in Wonderland or the Phantom Tollbooth. It's one of those stories in which nothing is wasted - every little detail, however small or whimsical, comes back to be useful later on. ( )

An dreamlike children's fantasy. It has a surreal quality that I am not used to. Anna Lavinia is growing up in an unhappy home, with a missing father and a miserable mother. One morning her mother sends her alone on a long train trip to visit her aunt, for no particular reason. Partway through the trip, the engineer gets left behind, and Anna Lavinia, her cat, and the train journey on together, until they get to where the tracks meet, the end of the line. Anna Lavinia thinks perhaps she should be concerned, but since everything seems to be going all right, she doesn't bother. She continues on in this unflappable way, through ever stranger adventures.

I would have loved this book when I was about eight. But I think this is a children's book that does not work as well for adults, no matter how much we want it to. ( )

I had never heard of this book before, perhaps because it was out of print for many years. Then I heard what a wonderful book it was on a book blog. I'd been looking for a "first" chapter book to read aloud to my five year old daughter. It is back in print now, so I ordered a copy.

It is such a charming story. It was written in the 1950's. It is the story of a girl named Anna Lavinia who lives with her mom in a distant house far away from neighbors and the village. When she finally ventures out beyond the grove of paw paw trees to visit her aunt by train, Anna Lavinia begins what is to become a magical journey to distant lands full of secrets and surprises.

I had so much fun reading this book for the first time as an adult. I can only imagine how much better it must be for a child to read this. My five year old LOVED it. Every night we read one or two chapters and she would race through her bedtime routine, just because she was so excited to hear more of the story. There are very cute pencil sketch drawings on almost every page (sometimes every other page.)

I think there is a second book and it is coming back to print in April 2012. I definitely will read that to my daughter as well and I look so forward to continue Anna Lavinia's adventures. This was the best chapter book ever to read to your young children and a great book for anyone of all ages to enjoy. I count myself lucky to have discovered this book. ( )