Reviews (3)

A must for a toddler train lover
I have 2 yr old twin boys who love this book! I only have to read half the book as they will tell me what noises the people and animals make. We have lots of fun with it.

Definitely one of the better Thomas books available.

A great toddler book.
This was my son's favorite book from about two years to two and a half. He would insist we read it to him every night as a bedtime story. He loved to make the sounds of all the animals. He has since graduated to Thomas The Tank videos, but he still loves this little book that started it all.

I highly recommend it, especially if your child likes trains.

Fun with Noises
Thomas the Tank Engine, a classic character by Wilbert Vere Awdry and Owain Bell, is about to embark on a delightful trip on which he carries people and animals through the countryside. This is a great book to read to your toddler to help them associate pictures of familiar people and animals with the sounds they make (moms will get a kick out of the sounds dads make in the book!). The human characters are reminiscent of those in the song "Wheels on the Bus" and the animals, Thomas and the cars he passes on his journey all provide great opportunities for noisemaking fun. The chunky format makes the book easy for toddlers to hold and page through themselves. Don't be surprised if you hear "Honk honk" and "Peep Peep" as your child "reads" to him or herself! ... Read more

Book Description

An exciting, colorful and information-packed journey into the world of trains and railways.Examine the different aspects of train travel and explore the impact trains have had on society over the past 200 years. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description

This very first book about the now famous engines was originally published in 1945. Here are the original four stories about kind, hard-working Edward, proud Gordon, and fussy Henry. Watchful readers will recognize a very popular little blue engine hiding in one of the pictures . . . waiting for his own book. ... Read more

Book Description

From Christopher Awdry, whose father created Thomas and his friends, come four more classic tales of very helpful steam engines and their adventures on the cozy little Island of Sodor. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Really Reliable and Wonderful
The fifth volume in Random House's reissue of the original Railway Series books, this first collection of stories by Christopher Awdry (son of Thomas originator Reverend W. Awdry) shows Christopher to be the superior writer and storyteller. The younger Awdry's writing has a finesse and his tales are fleshed out with greater details that make this volume more enjoyable for the adult reader who's reading these aloud. Beyond that - and this is valid for the entire series - these printings, with the original paintings and hardcover binding, have a wonderful feel to them, making them the kind of books that you want to have the entire collection in your bookcase, and hopefully pass on to your kids so that they can read to their children as you did with them.

Christopher Awdry's First Book!
This is a great book!In'Stop Thief',The Station Master's House gets robbed!Can Thomas the Tank Engine catch the thieves?In'Mind That Bike',Percy accidently runs over Tom Tipper's Bike.In'Fish', Duck and Henry get stuck in a "fishy" situation.In 'Triple Header',Gordon needs to go to the works,so Percy,Duck,and Thomas have to pull the express together. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Watch Out for "Trouble".....
"All aboard! Next stop, Black Paw Crossing!" The engineer makes his final train check, a few last minute passengers climb aboard, the conductor gives the all-clear and we're off. The train pulls away from the station and begins its journey across the countryside. Oh Oh...looks like there's trouble ahead on the tracks. That's Trouble with a capital T, because Trouble is the "engineer's" cat. A cat who likes to "upend" trees, "trample" houses and "derail" TOY trains..... Kathy Mallat has authored a charming picture book with a clever twist that will delight and amuse your little engineer. Her spare, simple text takes a backseat to the beautifully bold and colorful artwork that really tells the story and youngsters will love poring over all the marvelous detail in each picture. Trouble On The Tracks is just right for pre-schoolers and emerging readers and is a story all young train lovers will want to read again and again. ... Read more

Book Description

Henry the Green Engine has recovered from his silly habit of staying in tunnels whenever it rains, but he is still causing trouble for Sir Topham Hatt in four exciting stories. Part of The Railway Series. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

What a nicely done series
My son Joseph loves all the books in this series. Any boy that loves Thomas the Tank will! They are easy to handle for small boys. The pages are durable.

Same good stories, easy to carry around format
As every parent of a Thomas Fan knows, these books would better be durable and easy to carry. This book is an excellent combination of both. The four original stories are accompanied by the original illustrations, and put together in a durable hardcover, easy to carry format.

Just Lovely for Train Lovers
When my 3-yr old takes an interest in something, it usually becomes an all-out obsession: dinosaurs, construction vehicles, space and so it continues with Thomas the Tank Engine. We've read other books and rented videos, but these books (there are four in this series) are his beloved. The stories are simple and plentiful with a bit of a moral to them, without being pretentious or zealous. The writing style is delightful: adult enough not to bore the reader and yet perfectly understandable for the listener (assuming it's a child!). The pictures are clear but not movie or television tie-ins - it makes them more lovable! The books are small and my son loves to stack them and carry them around with him.

If your child loves Thomas and you're tired of media tie-ins, these books are for you!

Henry is great
Henry the Green engine had been having problems for many years. He had given Sir Topham Hatt a great deal of trouble and worry. After being given Welsh Coal, Henry takes the Flying Kipper one evening and has a terrible accident. He then gets a new shape and a larger firebox and is in no need of special coal anymore. Later he teaches Gordon and silly boys a lesson with a Whistle and a Sneeze!

Henry's 5 Famous Stories!
The stories of Henry, the green engine, come to us as a very beautiful book. Known as the Flying Kipper, Henry and his trucks have fun making their rounds. After an accident, Henry gets a new shape. When some troublesome boys decide to throw rocks at engines passing under a bridge, Henry teaches them a lesson. Written by Wilbert Awdry. Illustrated by Clarence Reginald Dalby. Published by Kaye & Ward in Great Britian in 1951. ... Read more

Book Description

Part David Macaulay's The Way Things Work and part Johnny Appleseed, a captivating true story about a dream that came true

Roxie Munro and her husband, Bo Zaunders, have created an enthralling illustrated biography set in 1800s Virginia-a wonderful book for budding architects and engineers, as well as bridge and history aficionados. Lemuel Chenoweth is a shy western Virginia furniture maker with only a third-grade education and a vision when he heads to Richmond, Virginia, to enter a bridge-designing contest. Lemuel stuns the judges and the highfalutin' competition by assembling an extraordinary bridge model-one that can support his own weight-and he wins. Built entirely without nails, his bridge became one of the most famous in the country and was the site of the first land battle of the Civil War. The Great Bridge-Building Contest tells the dramatic story of its remarkable existence. AUTHOR BIO: Roxie Munro and Bo Zaunders have created numerous award-winning books for children on inventors, adventurers, early aviators, and great buildings. Ms. Munro's Inside-Outside series has sold more than 130,000 copies. Roxie has illustrated numerous covers for The New Yorker and has an avid following among collectors. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

You never read this book once, at least 3 times.
You never read this book once, at least 3 times in one sitting. I have a 3-year-old boy and he loves this simple story about the "Boot Family". The family helps the Old Steam Train and the Station to work again.

The pictures are on a white background, which make them easy to look at. They are wonderful, bright and very descriptive drawings. This all assists the child to start reading books and they don't want to stop. They learn to read the short simple text located on top of the page (about 5 easy words). Then the book has longer text on the bottom of the page, which you read to the child. You build up the child's confidence and then they start to read the whole book with you. It's great when my child joins in and gets all excited. I couldn't ask for more from a book.

The book also has maps of Apple Tree Farm. In which you can do your own stories and see where the story you have just read. Also a little yellow duck is on every page for the child to find. ... Read more

Book Description

In this adorable board book, trainmice are hard at work, conductors and porters loading up the train and heading out of the station, passengers traveling through the countryside.Simple rhyming text and bright illustrations will have the littlest listeners sitting still for one more read. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

It's simple, but it works
We bought this book for our son when he was about six months old. Ever since, it's a lock to hold his attention. The text is brief with simple rhyming lines. The illustrations are bright and clear, but not too detailed. It doesn't really tell a story. More accurately, it highlights some key elements of train travel (whistles, the dining car, a caboose). It's a cute book, but frankly, I'm not sure I "get" what is so interesting to my son. Regardless, when I'm putting him to bed and we choose a book to read, he will usually reach for this one. And as any parent knows, when you find something that works, don't question it.

toddler technicolor
My two toddlers love this colorful rhyming boardbook and its companion masterpiece Hooray For Truckmice. These computer generated illustrations scream with vibrant colors that will inflame the imagination of even the most jaded toddler reader. The simple rhymes are charming. You can't buy a better book for your youngsters for less money than this high quality, small boardbook. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Brings experience to life!
Rhoda Blumberg brings in the many aspects, peoples, andcultures involved in building the transcontinental railroad, andconsiders it from many view points.A wonderful way to learn about this important part of American history. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (1)

REMARKABLY DETAILED
The remarkably detailed, stunning black and white drawings by author/illustrator David Weitzman are worth a great deal more than the price of this book. Front endpapers and back endpapers offer a comprehensive picture of this early locomotive with accompanying numbers identifying each feature. There's the wood filled fire box, the crank, and even the driving axle. All with an interest in trains will consider this slim volume a treasure.

As some know, John Bull was built in England and transported by steamship to America in 1831. Such a powerhouse had never been seen before, and it was used not only to help build but to run the first New Jersey railroad.

This met with such success that America soon manufactured many more similar locomotives.

After a lengthy tour of service the locomotive was retired to the Smithsonian Institution where it was admired by thousands. Even more amazing is that some 150 years after it first arrived on our shores the John Bull was still able to run as smoothly as ever.

"The John Bull" is fitting tribute to a vital portion of our transportation industry.

- Gail Cooke ... Read more

Book Description

All aboard for trainloads of fun as young readers are taken to places filled with train history and adventures! ... Read more

Book Description

Shirley Neitzel and Nancy Winslow Parker are back with what may just be their best picture-book rebus yet.After all, who can resist a ride on a train?And with words like locomotive, boxcar, tanker, tunnel, trestle, and caboose, the cumulative story invites imaginative play while building vocabulary and basic reading skills.Pure fun for young engineers. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

#1 on our 3 yr old's request list!
We discovered this book at the library and it became a favorite. After returning it our 3 year old kept asking for "the train book" and we couldn't remember the title. Her persistance drove our detective work (do you have any idea how many juvenile train books there are?) and it is now a bed-time, back-seat, grandma's lap, any-old-time-favorite. It is also the first book our little girl "read" back to us! This book has great rhymes, details to rediscover, and new vocabulary leading to more new vocabulary. Special memories..and a big thumbs up from our little engineer!

Great repetition that gets my son yelling out the words
This book is a rhyme that repeats itself adding a verse at a time. It uses pictures of various train cars, etc. that my son shouts out as we get to them. Great for 3-4 year olds. ... Read more

Book Description

Combining classic Little Engine charm with constructive concepts, this oversized lift-the-flap book is sure to be a winner with parents and kids alike!

Come take a ride with The Little Engine That Could(tm)! Kids join in the lift-and-learn fun-from loading up the trains at the station (a matching activity), to delivering toys to boys and girls in a colorful parade of shapes! With so much to lift and see, kids will have loads of fun while learning the alphabet, opposites, counting, and more-all with the great "I think I can" attitude! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

It's Ok
This is a good book as far as the lifts, it teaches the alphabet, opposites, counting, shapes and others. but it does not compare to the orignal. Although some of the story line is their its just not the same as the orignal. ... Read more

Book Description

All aboard for a trainload of fun in this colorful accordion-fold board book! One side of this energetic book shows the inside of a train, complete with passengers and crew preparing for a journey. The other side features an exterior view and identifies each car. Rhythmic text and lively, detailed illustrations make this an exciting book for train lovers-and when fully extended, this accordion-fold book is a fun toy, too! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A fun book for young train lovers.
This board book unfolds, page by page, until all of the cars of the train are revealed. The completely opened book is about 3 feet long, with one side showing the outside of the train cars and the other side showing what the people are doing inside each car. The book is sturdy enough to survive being dragged about on the floor as a toy train once opened. The illustrations are colorful and fun and show recognizable activities. The text on each page is short and rhythmic and can be read in a way that imitates the motion of an accelerating train. The only minor problem is that the folded book fits very tightly in its "case", so that it is very difficult, if not impossible, for small children to remove the book by themselves. I expect the case will be discarded, if not destroyed, in very short order! Its loss shouldn't distract from the overall quality and appeal of the book. ... Read more

Book Description

With the westward expansion of the railroad, immigrants from all overthe world poured in to settle the land.Children will learn about the hard-working peoplewho built the railroads from sea to sea, and how railroads changed the face of westernNorth America forever. ... Read more