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About

Jessica Petersen Jessica Petersen
Children’s book author/illustrator and editor
Creator and owner of Play Trains!
[email protected]

The Little Engineer
Seven years old; knows more about trains than most adults

I can trace my son’s language development with the ways he has asked to play trains:

One and a half years old: Signs, TRAINS TRAINS TRAINS.
Two years old: “MAMA PLAY TRAINS.” (Just like that, no pause to warrant a comma.)
Two and a quarter years old: “Mama play trains! …please!”
Two and a half years old: “How about a little bit of play trains?”
Three years old: “Mama, may you please play trains with me?”

I think you can probably see how I came up with a title for this blog.

Six years ago, I couldn’t imagine how big this obsession would get, or that it would pull in both of us parents. I suppose it helps that both my husband and I are geeks, which means we’re no strangers to this kind of focused, intense interest. We find ourselves discussing Thomas and Friends characters or the relative merits of different lines of wooden trains after our son has gone to bed.

And that’s after a long day of, you guessed it, “PLAY TRAINS!” At any given time, we have wooden train layouts in at least two or three different rooms of the house. When we play with Duplo blocks, we build trains and stations. We draw and paint trains, do train puzzles, read train books, play Train Store, remap most of the city as the Island of Sodor as we run around and play…and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

I’ve spent a lot of time and effort learning about the world of trains that’s out there for young children, and it seemed a shame not to share that knowledge with other parents, or anyone else who finds themselves playing with a little train lover.

When I’m not the Little Engineer’s playmate, I’m a children’s book author, illustrator, and editor. My first book, Old Tracks, New Tricks, was inspired by all our years of train play as a family, by the posts I wrote (or had always wanted to write) for Play Trains! Through the story of three creative train tracks who shake up an old train set, it shows kids a whole trainload of new ways to play with their trains, as well as encouraging them to come up with “track tricks” of their own! You can visit the Old Tracks, New Tricks website, and also read more about my work at my author website, Jessica-Petersen.com.

I also once kept a food blog, Pie of the Tiger, inspired by my former career as a pastry cook.

I’d love to meet you and talk trains on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Google+!

Jessica Petersen, author of Old Tracks, New Tricks
Hi, I'm Jessica! We're so happy you've climbed aboard the Play Trains! express. Next stop: a trainload of fun and learning for your little engineer!

Our Book!

The Play Trains! Guide to Wooden Train Sets: expert advice on the best wooden train set to buy for your little engineer.

The Play Trains! Guide to the Best Wooden Train Sets 2021

The Play Trains! Ultimate Wooden Train Guide -- Wooden Train Track: expert advice and product recommendations

Wooden Train Tracks — The Play Trains! Ultimate Wooden Train Guide

The Play Trains Ultimate Wooden Train Guide: The Best Wooden Train Tables for Toddlers and Preschoolers

Best Train Tables — The Ultimate Wooden Train Guide

Copyright

Copyright © 2012 - 2023 Jessica Petersen, All Rights Reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Disclosure

Some product links on this site are affiliate links for products we think are worth checking out. The owner of this website is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and the Lego Brand Retail Affiliate Program. Read our the rest of our disclosure policy here.
Dress Up Costumes for Toy Trains from Play Trains! A fun way to decorate wooden trains (or other toy trains) without damaging them.

Dress Up Costumes for Wooden Trains

Building with Mini Light Boxes: Roller Coaster Tracks for Wooden Trains @ Play Trains!

Building with Mini Light Boxes: Wooden Train Roller Coaster Tracks

Parents' Guide to Building with Dreamup Toys Wooden Railway Block Platforms -- how to combine your child's wooden train track and DUPLO, LEGO, or other interlocking building blocks!

Building with Dreamup Toys Wooden Railway Block Platforms

Our Train Videos on YouTube

About Me

Hi, I'm Jessica! While playing trains for the last several years, my Little Engineer and I have had a lot of fun and learned so much together. I'm excited to share our discoveries with other people who have kids who love trains in their lives.

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Our Book!

Recent Posts

  • Best Train Sets for Toddlers
  • The Play Trains! Guide to the Best Wooden Train Sets 2021
  • The Best Battery-Powered Wooden Trains
  • Wooden Track Veggie Stack: a Wooden Train Activity
  • 55+ Creative Train Gift Ideas for Kids that Will Make You a Hero

Copyright © 2012 - 2018 by Jessica Petersen

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