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Summary: Changed my daughter's life
Review: 1,000 words aren't nearly enough, so I'll try to keep it brief. The stories in this book entranced me and my now-3-year-old daughter. The subject matter appeals to children as young as 2, but is written at a level appropriate for much older children and includes a great deal of actual technical detail.My daughter REQUIRES these stories before bed, and I love reading them to her. If we cannot read to her, she will sit alone with this book, look at the handsome illustrations, and create stories, using the same style that Awdry uses. It has dramatically expanded her vocabulary and her sentence structure. Her desire to read the stories has focused her attention on learning to read (next, I'll post a review of "Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Lessons"). My daughter's love of the stories has led to a yearning to experience all railroad-related things, including museum exhibits, History Channel documentaries, scenic railroads, festivals-- all of which has enriched our family outings and vacations. She is now interested in anything to do with Scotland, England, and Wales because they are the origins of the trains in the book. The book has given her a greater understanding of trains and railroads than the vast majority of adults have. Obviously, not every child will respond the same way. But I cannot imagine a children's book that could have yielded greater rewards than the Thomas book has for us.
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Summary: The best Thomas book going
Review: As a child I owned most of the books seperatley, so I thought I would buy this collected edition of (what used to be called) The Railway Series for my nephew. He absolutley loved it. He still watches the videos etc, but insists that at least two of the stories are read to him every night. When the books where written, Wilbert didn't give a thought to the fact that one day, Thomas the Tank Engine would have a worldwide audience, let alone an British one. The stories are simple. A short tale with a moral at the end. They give lessons in life. Everyone gets there comeuppence in the end. That's life and my nephew knows that. As for the Fat Controller, he does seem a little offensive for todays lifestyles, but some people can be a little oversensitive as well. When Wilbert Awdry wrote these stories, the first one being way back in 1945 right up to 1972, time, and attitudes, was a little different. Reading some of the reviews on this book would make some people think that the books where wrote yesterday. The only reason that the books are a little darker than the TV series is because the TV series dosn't stick to the principles that the books adhere to. Unfortunatly, all the stories in their original format are now out of print due to a complete shambles that surrounds the reprinting of the series, which is a dire shame. So this book is where to find all the first stories that started the wheels on the best loved character ever. With this book your child will enjoy ALL the original stories, as they where. Just ask my nephew!
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Summary: a special time with daddy
Review: Both of my sons, 5 and 3 love this book. Their daddy reads from it on his nights of bedtime stories. When the story is done they talk about what happened and who did what until the next time daddy reads to them. It's a great collection and a special way of getting daddy involved with reading to the children.
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Summary: Peep Peep! A Must For Any Thomas Fan, Young or Old!
Review: Cinders and Ashes, what a Great Book! An Excellent Value! Others have written reviews that mirror my exact thoughts on this book, so I won't bore anyone with a verbose attempt. Buy it, you'll like it! One minor flaw is the size of the illustrations (they're a bit small), but the stories are wonderful...that's what counts! Toodle-peep! Read to your child/children EVERY day!
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Summary: Best children's book we ever bought
Review: Containing about a hundred stories of a few pages each, this book provided excellent bedtime reading for our 4-year-old train fanatic for months. The stories were obviously written by someone who knows and loves steam engines and who understands boys very well, and who wrote only a few high quality stories per year for several decades. We enjoyed reading them almost as much as our son enjoyed hearing them. The illustrations are excellent, with lots of nice subtleties to discuss. We especially enjoyed Daddy-son touches like "Gordon winked at James, like this" (illustrated on the page as well as on the face of our son and his Daddy). Definitely the best children's book we have ever purchased.
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Summary: Kids love it, But Im not thrilled
Review: First of all my 3 year old son LOVES this book. But Im concerned about how snobby and elitest the trains all are to each other. There seems to be alot of color bias and gossip. I dont think it really makes clear the positive lessons that you should be getting from it. Also, the kids may be confused about some of the trains being a different color in the book that they are of video. Also, Sir Topham hat is called The fat controller and I dont think thats very nice. Thats just my opinion!
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Summary: Great Collection Of Stories
Review: I bought this for my 4yrs old nephew and 5yrs. old niece and they absolutely love it. The stories are interesting and realistic in that they help kids to see that life sometimes have an unpleasant side but there's a way to deal with it. The stories are not long winded so they can hold the children's attention enough to calm them down. This is an exellent bedtime storybook.
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Summary: Ths is the best book of Thomas the Tank engine stories!
Review: I have three huge Thomas fans in my house, four if you count my husband. My boys get endless enjoyment from hearing the stories in this book. Each boy has his own favorite that he begs Dad to read each night. Each story provideds the opportunity to learn and opens the door to imagination and further conversation. It's a joy to have all the stories in one book. We have enjoyed this book so much, we have worn out two copies so far!
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Summary: I love this book!
Review: I love this book because it has a lot of thomas books and alot of stories all put together. There is the books:The 3 railway engines,Thomas the tank engine,James the red engine,Tank engine thomas again,Troublesome Engines,Henry the green engine,Toby the tram engine,Gordon the big engine, Edward the blue engine,4 little engines,Percy the small engine,The 8 famous engines,Duck and the diesel engine,The little old engine,The twin engines,Branch line engines,Gallant old engine, Stepney the bluebell engine,Mountain engines,Very old engines,Main line engines,Small railway engines,Enterprising engines,Oliver the western engine,Duke the lost engine,Tramway Engines,and A story about Rev.W.Awdry and how he got the idea for thomas the tank engine & friends.
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Summary: A favorite for nearly 3 years now!
Review: I reviewed this book in June of 1999. My son (then 3) loved the book. Well, he's almost 5 and he still loves it. It has almost fallen apart a bunch of times, but his grandfather keeps repairing it for him. My son doesn't want a replacement, he loves his old battered and beloved copy. We read it to him on an almost daily basis. I'm very happy that he loves the Thomas stories. I gave a friend's daughter a copy of this book and she insists on at least 2 of the stories being read to her before nap and before bedtime. If any child likes Thomas, this is a very worthwhile gift that will be appreciated for a long time.
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