All aboard for a delightful romp through the alphabet with Ahmed, on his way to Europe on the luxury liner the Empress of Britain, Bella, who has a most unnerving way of saying hello, pram-bound Carmelita, and many other unusual elephant characters.

Trunks All Aboard combines a charmingly whimsical text by Barbara Nichol (best known for The Dippers and the Mr. Christie’s Award-winning Biscuits in the Cupboard), with an engaging series of hand-drawn postcards that Canadian businessman Sir William Cornelius Van Horne sent home to his grandson in 1909. Nichol has brilliantly used Van Horne’s delicate full-colour pictures to create a most unusual alphabet book. Her text is infused with a fanciful sense of humour certain to appeal to readers of all ages. The names she’s given the elephants – such as Gerald, Hiram, Jasmine, Ridley, Taffy, and Undine – truly evoke the nuances of Van Horne’s turn-of-the-century world.

Perhaps best-known for his key role in building the Canadian Pacific Railway, the eminent Sir William was obviously artistically talented as well. His watercolours are perfectly attuned to the rich world of a child’s imagination and will deftly reach through time to engage young readers today with the same exuberant sense of fun as nearly a century ago when he first painted them. Even Van Horne’s grandson plays his part, elephant in hand, as he sits beside his famous grandfather in the old photograph that welcomes readers to this engaging picture book.