Des histoires de locomotives

This article attempts to explain how a heavy, black industrial machine like the locomotive became one of the most desirable toys, a companion, an ally, and a hero in children's books, and tries to identify what is at work through such a reversal. Freed from its utilitarian and mercantile attach...

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Main Author: Françoise Le Bouar
Format: Article
Language:fra
Published: Association Française de Recherche sur les Livres et les Objets Culturels de l’Enfance (AFRELOCE) 2021-06-01
Series:Strenae
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/strenae/278
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author Françoise Le Bouar
author_facet Françoise Le Bouar
author_sort Françoise Le Bouar
collection DOAJ
description This article attempts to explain how a heavy, black industrial machine like the locomotive became one of the most desirable toys, a companion, an ally, and a hero in children's books, and tries to identify what is at work through such a reversal. Freed from its utilitarian and mercantile attachments, miniaturized, and immortalized in an obsolete form, the locomotive still remains however fundamentally linked to the world of work and to human activities in general, as is the case for many toys. It combines power and regularity, continuity, the unknown, adventure and security. We push it, we pull it, and it pulls us in turn, projecting us into the future without forcing us to deny our childhood dreams. All possibilities resonate within its chugging song, while its imponderable steam symbolizes the miracle of momentum.
format Article
id doaj-art-0c521cfcc8ec446ebc459dffe043214a
institution OA Journals
issn 2109-9081
language fra
publishDate 2021-06-01
publisher Association Française de Recherche sur les Livres et les Objets Culturels de l’Enfance (AFRELOCE)
record_format Article
series Strenae
spelling doaj-art-0c521cfcc8ec446ebc459dffe043214a2025-08-20T01:55:58ZfraAssociation Française de Recherche sur les Livres et les Objets Culturels de l’Enfance (AFRELOCE)Strenae2109-90812021-06-01210.4000/strenae.278Des histoires de locomotivesFrançoise Le BouarThis article attempts to explain how a heavy, black industrial machine like the locomotive became one of the most desirable toys, a companion, an ally, and a hero in children's books, and tries to identify what is at work through such a reversal. Freed from its utilitarian and mercantile attachments, miniaturized, and immortalized in an obsolete form, the locomotive still remains however fundamentally linked to the world of work and to human activities in general, as is the case for many toys. It combines power and regularity, continuity, the unknown, adventure and security. We push it, we pull it, and it pulls us in turn, projecting us into the future without forcing us to deny our childhood dreams. All possibilities resonate within its chugging song, while its imponderable steam symbolizes the miracle of momentum.https://journals.openedition.org/strenae/278children’s booktoyfictionlocomotive
spellingShingle Françoise Le Bouar
Des histoires de locomotives
Strenae
children’s book
toy
fiction
locomotive
title Des histoires de locomotives
title_full Des histoires de locomotives
title_fullStr Des histoires de locomotives
title_full_unstemmed Des histoires de locomotives
title_short Des histoires de locomotives
title_sort des histoires de locomotives
topic children’s book
toy
fiction
locomotive
url https://journals.openedition.org/strenae/278
work_keys_str_mv AT francoiselebouar deshistoiresdelocomotives