The Complete Collection (Thomas the Tank Engine)

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Surely someone has done a detailed exegesis? I'll confess that I am, indeed, very curious about the details. For example, the episode my kids liked most when they were at the appropriate age. They unwisely fill Thomas up with water from the river. He comes over feeling all funny, so they look in his storage tank. It might seem strange adding this one to my list of 'read' books, but this book was literally my entire childhood. I was an absolute Thomas - and train - fanatic, and these stories were my favourite thing ever. The drawings that are included in with the stories are just an added bonus too, and I spent hours pouring over them as a three- and four-year-old kid.

The only minuses there are (which are few), are some very advanced railway terminology, outdated phrases (I've never before heard "Play him out" yet it's mentioned countless times in the book), and the artwork - which while charming, can sometimes also look like nightmare fuel!This lavish complete collection of The Railway Series is the perfect way to celebrate 75 years since the publication of the first set of stories on the Island of Sodar. I enjoyed all these new railways and the storylines they brought to the series, but especially liked the stories of the Skarloey and Mountain Railways. Wilbert Awdry | Johnny Morris | Willie Rushton | Ted Robbins | John Gielgud | Andrew Sachs | Michael Angelis The author of the Thomas books was a clergyman, and I'm torn between two thoughts. On the one hand, it's very tempting to believe that they are intended as Christian allegory. On the other, an interpretation along those lines almost inevitably ends with the conclusion that the Fat Controller is God. I'm not a Christian, but even I find this a little blasphemous. Or perhaps it just shows that I will never be a Really Useful Engine. So on to the book - this is a gloriously grand collection of all of the original stories along with the artwork that brought the various engines to life. There are a short afterwards which covers of the Rev Awdry along with the two main artists who illustrated (and brought) the island of Sodor and the various engines to life.

New types of engines and their railways begin to appear, including the Skarloey narrow gauge railway, the Culdee Fell mountain railway and the Arlesdale miniature railway, all of which are based upon real railways, namely the Tallylyn and Corris railways in Wales, the Snowdon Mountain Railway and the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway in Wales. There is nobody whom I would not hesitate to recommend this to. This is the sort of book that parents could read to their children, and still have a great time reading it. These are the types of stories that those children will read and praise when they are older. These are the stories that those children will tell their children. The 70th Anniversary edition was published on the same day from thirty years, after the television series had made its debut on UK televisions on 9 October 1984.One of the suprise aspects was Stepney the "Bluebell" Engine - a set of stories focusing on the Bluebell Railway in Sussex, I remember visiting that as a kid. The illustrations by C. Reginald Dalby, John T. Kenney and Peter and Gunvor Edwards helped to cement this feeling, and both the writing and illustrations proved to be very comforting to me. I also enjoyed the fact that most of the stories were based on real railways and incidents which had happened. So like I say when I read the various children books - I still have so much to learn from the classics what ever they are. I can’t really name one favourite book in the series as they all offered different things to me, so will give a list of those that I enjoyed the most.

A wonderful collection of stories written by the Rev W. Awdry, focused around the adventures of the various engines and the railways that they run on in the fictional Island of Sodor. The endpaper features Bertie with a yellow face, Harold without rotors, Edward on top and bottom left side without his tender and Percy on the top and bottom right side without his face. You can absolutely tell the Author was a big fan of Trains, and the research done must have been extraordinary to turn seemingly everyday events on the railways of the time into great adventures, must have taken great imagination!This elegant slipcase brings together all 26 books from this famous Railway Series in one stunning volume.

Each of the 26 books consists of four stories each, that's plenty of adventures to share for bedtime stories over many nights. This compilation contains all 26 of The Reverend W. Awdry's "Railway Series" books. It doesn't contain any of this son, Christopher's additions to the series, however, so the claim that this is "The Complete Collection" is slightly disingenuous. I also enjoyed reading the afterwards, adding much info & work I didn't know, that went into these books. Like a lot of young British lads, I absolutely loved Thomas the Tank Engine, and enjoyed the TV series, being the late eighties baby that I was.I enjoyed the earlier books in a different way to the later ones, as they were escapist to me, portraying a world which never perhaps really existed, but also enjoyed the complexity of the later books as well, as the emotions of the situations the engines found themselves in, became more prominent. I owned many of these separate story books too, but it's only after finding this collection and rereading them all over again that you realise just how clever these books are. The ultimate nostalgic offering for all those who delight in the adventures of this cheeky little engine and his friends and a delightful present for new babies who are sure to grow up to be firm Thomas fans. Children aged 3 and up will love meeting classic characters such as Percy, James, Gordon, and Toby down on The Fat Controller's railway. The short stories and beautiful illustrations are perfect for bedtime reading. The Japanese version was published in commemoration of the 40th anniversary from the publication of the Railway Series in Japan.