- First published
- 1971
- Editions
- 2 editions
- Status
- In print
The Caboose Who Got Loose
Katy the caboose is tired of bringing up the rear of a noisy, smoky freight train and dreams of a peaceful life, until one day she breaks loose and gets her wish in the most unexpected way.
"When Katy caboose rambled down the train tracks, The engines were steamers with puffing smoke stacks. She was a caboose who disliked being last With an endless black cloud of smoke rolling past... Often Katy would wish that someday she could be Something quiet and simple like a lovely elm tree."
Bill Peet recalled how long the idea waited: "A drawing of an unhappy caboose rattling along under a cloud of train smoke was stuck on my studio wall for fifteen years before she became 'Katy' in the story 'The Caboose Who Got Loose'." On the original family site, his son added that steam trains were one of his father's favorite things, also appearing in Smokey, Pamela Camel, and Farewell to Shady Glade.
Preliminary sketches
