The steam train is pulling out of the station, it heads to the hills, into a rainstorm, through a tunnel and out the other side into the sunshine and to the seaside. Follow the rhythm and the rhyme of this simple poem and travel with the train on its wonderful adventure, beautifully illustrated by Rosalind Hudson.

* Blue/Band 4 books offer longer, repeated patterns with sequential events and integrated literary and natural language.

* Text type: A poem.

* A map of the journey the steam train takes on pages 14-15 helps children to recap the poem and provides a wealth of speaking and listening opportunities.

* Curriculum links: Music