Tank Engine Thomas Again (Railway) [Hardcover]

 

 

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I was brought up on the Revd Awdrey books- I got some of the originals as hand-me-downs and then collected the later ones as they were published. I still have them in the loft. I purchased my sister's children some of the series; she is convinced that they learnt their colours and numbers from them and then they later helped with their reading. Judging by their Christmas lists now that they are in their mid teens, they are both now avid readers of physical books (might having been given Kindles for Christmas their preferred format may now change) as well as being addicted to video games, mobile phones etc.

I bought this particular book for a friend's 2 year old, to continue the series that I commenced buying for him at his first Christmas & birthday (not far apart). He is getting quite into the Thomas stories and the books are suitable size, shape and weight for a youngster to hold. The colourful, detailed (but having cartoon-like simplicity) pictures on the right-hand that illustrate the text in the left means that the essence of the story can be "re-read" by a child looking at the pictures alone as a picture story book.

When originally written, the books reflected the railway of the 1960s which is now history, albeit preserved in examples of heritage lines around the country which youngsters can experience for themselves. Hence the stories are actually all based on real or at least feasible events- not total fantasy; They were written by a knowledgeable railway enthusiast; I have now worked as a railway signal engineer for some 30 years and believe that if those joining the industry had the sort of background knowledge contained within this series of books then they'd be better prepared for their choice of career.

The stories are also highly moral; for example the engines get punished when they have been naughty but they are always forgiven when they acknowledge the error of their ways.

Don't confuse this series with the commercialism of "Thomas the Tank" franchise which has been built on its foundations. I suppose that this has its place in promoting and popularising and so isn't all bad, but this series is very largely unchanged over 50 years but like all real classics doesn't seem dated- the railways depicted are not the ones as are used everyday by commuters travelling to work but still exist and more importantly the human elements and characteristics within the stories haven't really changed a bit.

I suppose that if the series were being written today the engines would need to be more "diverse"- the female characters are all coaches rather than engines and all the names are traditionally British, so there is no "Aditi the Asian Engine" or "Len the Less Mobile Engine" that probably ought to be included to reflect the active inclusiveness of the modern world. Engines all have their own personalities and characteristics but it is fair to say that they are all White Anglo-Saxon Protestants, the greatest outsiders are Donald and Douglas the Scottish Twins that talk with a broad accent! However if the lack of political correctness isn't considered a major problem (and there certainly isn't any of the explicit racism or sexism that makes reading some old books an uncomfortable experience because of the changed context over generations), then I'd certainly recommend this whole series; considering the cost of living nowadays these represent great value for money as they are generally read time and time again.

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