Book 10

Book 10: Thomas the Tank Engine Story Collection, by the Reverend W. Awdry, Random House Collection published in 2005; first set of Awdry stories published in 1945.

My son's name is Thomas, and his daddy is into model trains, so that I would initially buy this book is a given. What surprised and delighted me is how different these tales are from those based on the PBS Thomas series. All the wit, charm and sense of place have been stripped from the original telling, and all that remains of the based-on books are stories about a blue train.

We began reading a story a night from this collection when our Thomas was about three months old. They are on the longish side, so I kept watching for squirming. There was none. I'm not sure if it was the engaging illustrations, or the apropos sound effects, or both, that held his interest, but his interest was held and we've already read through all these stories twice.

The only downside to reading and hearing the Awdry originals is it makes sitting through a Thomas video a little dull, even for the now fifteen-month-old, and especially for his mommy.


*For other reviews, please see Books I Buy and Why