You can portray emotions better with animals. Kathrin Scharer All Aboard with Joanna! begins by inviting young readers into the fantastical world of creating books by showing a black and white sketch of the artists work table as she faces the blank page. The reader can then follow the interaction between the fictional character, the little pig Joanna, and the artist. A train and its numerous passengers become the setting for this beautifully illustrated narrative. As the story unfolds, Joanna has many requests to make to her creator: from her clothing (that she would prefer to be stripey), to catching up with another train to see who could possibly be inside it. By the end of this delightful story where the author even teases Joanna - drawing a a big bad wolf and a huge monster! - Joanna is finally content when she gets the right companion to spend the rest of the trip with.