A Step 3 reader introducing trains of all shapes and sizes doing what they do best: hauling freight, carrying passengers, and zooming at speeds close to 400 miles per hour! Readers will encounter the Jacobite—a Scottish train that plays the Hogwarts Express in the Harry Potter films. They will learn about the great steam locomotives that crossed the United States, joining east and west in 1869. And they will learn about the different technologies­­—steam,...

Using witty anecdotes and clear explanations, the author takes readers from the birth of democracy to the electoral college; from front porch campaigning to hanging chads.