Trains and Railroads Books

This new Thomas & Friends story adds to a great tradition and is a perfect complement to the DVD of the same name. The illustrations are rich and engaging and the story is fast-paced and well told. The book itself is beautifully made, with a fully illustrated jacket over the illustrated hard cover. It's the perfect size to read to younger children, or for older children to pick up on their own.

If you have the DVD, this will be a great companion. If you don't, the book stands well on its own! This book is a must-have for Thomas fans and a great introduction for new readers.

Researchers constantly find that reading to children is valuable in a variety of ways, not least of which are instilling a love of reading and improved reading skills. With better parent-child bonding from reading, your child will also be more emotionally secure and able to relate better to others. Intellectual performance will expand as well. Spending time together watching television fails as a substitute.

To help other parents apply this advice, as a parent of four I consulted an expert, our youngest child, and asked her to share with me her favorite books that were read to her as a young child. Thomas the Tank Engine and the Great Race was one of her picks.

Let me begin by complimenting the wonderful design of this book. It comes snapped together, and it is strongly enough held that your child will not be able to open it easily by herself or himself until about age two. While together, what you see is the image of Thomas, a steam locomotive, on both sides. On the bottom are four rolling wheels that your child can use to push Thomas all around, making Thomas go. So Thomas will be a fun toy from a very young age.

The innovative design continues when you unsnap the book and open it. The cut-out openings for wheels on each page serve as the area under arches, wheels on Thomas and on Bertie the bus, and other images.

Now, you also have a story that you can read to your child. Many of the words are too difficult for a beginning reader, but many are not. My favorite way to use this book was to teach our daughter how to spot "Thomas" while I followed the words with my finger as I read aloud. Whenever I got to "Thomas" it was her job to say his name. This entailed lots of laughs and happiness both when she succeeded and when she did not. I just waited until she realized she needed to say, Thomas. If you are like me, you can then gradually add other words for your child to read. "Bertie" is a good choice for the second word.

One of the attractions of this story is that it anthropomorphizes a steam engine and a bus. To adults, that is fun. However, to a two year old, it is "magic." Children at that age do not understand how the world works yet, and are open to all kinds of magical interpretations. A book like this one expands their imagination at its most fertile period. By continuing to use the book after they are more literal as a beginning reader, it can help them stay in contact with that early, rich imagination that so many people lose.

The story is filled with many positive examples. Thomas and Bertie the Bus are friends. One day, Bertie asserts that he can go faster than Thomas and suggests a race. Bertie agrees. The stationmaster reminds them to "drive safely" and starts them off. Along the way, they follow that injunction. Bertie stops for Thomas at the railroad crossing. Thomas stops at a station to let off passengers (although he does urge them to debark quickly, but he adds a "please" to that request). Later, Thomas has to stop for water and Bertie has traffic lights to deal with. At the end, Thomas wins the race. But everyone cheers both Thomas and Bertie. The rivalry has strengthened their friendship rather than divided them. This example stimulated many running races with our daughter where she just happened to beat her parents. She loved this.

After you child speaks well and easily, you can use this book to suggest a driving game. Ask you child to pick two cars ahead of you and name them. Then converse with your child to build up a story about the two cars like the race in this book. The two of you can watch them to see who wins the race, and narrate what is going on. This will help your child develop as a story teller, and also help him or her to realize that the world is full of stories. You may also avoid some of the inevitable questions about, "When will we be there?" and "How much longer?"

Have a great time as a parent and enjoy your trips more with your child!

This small 25-page book is a Thomas lover's delight. Using pictures from the television series, it tells the tale of Trevor the Traction Engine and how he proves to be a truly useful engine -- even though he does not run on rails!

The book begins with a few sentences about how Edward (No. 2) saved Trevor from the scrap heap, and how their friendship continues to this day.

Trevor now works at the vicarage orchard but at the moment he is lamenting that there is not much work to do. Edward then tells his friend that Sir Topham Hatt has requested his assistance at the new harbor.

Thomas meets Trevor when he is sent to bring this new Steamie to the new harbor. Thomas has never seen a traction engine and is puzzled by the fact that Trevor doesn't run on rails.

Trevor shows his usefulness though at the docks where all is in confusion. But as much fun as Trevor has *saving the day*, his favorite part of the work is when he gets to give rides to the children.

A sweet book that ends with Trevor sleepily remembering his busy time at the new harbor, and all of his new friends. This sleepy, quiet ending makes this book is a good one for bedtime. And what more can you say in favor of a Steamie than that Annie and Clarabel like him!

Great book... my son loves it and so do I.

This Booke is very important. It teaches the Basics of truth and honesty. Thomas should have told the truth. He had gone to the Carnival . Thomas was supposed to check to see if signals were working. Percy nearly derailed with a signal that was broken. Thomas was worried with what Sir Topham Hatt would say. So he told a lie. That just made things worse. The end is for you to find out for yourself. I hope uou enjoy yourself!

Great story, and I LOVE Heath McPherson's artwork. I bought this book for my two daughters, but I have yet to let them see it! I've been too busy looking at the illustrations myself!

We love this series of books! My daughter is now too old for them, but I use them with my students I teach and they are great.

The rendition describes the history of toy trains from the
mid-1800s through much of the 1900s. There are full color renditions of famous trains; such as, the American Flier Lines,
the Marklin heavy locomotive and the flat car Lionel trains.
This work would be perfect for the professional toy train
collector in your house. The presentation contains the names
and model descriptions of the toy trains depicted. The cost
is modest for the huge value of the information contained.
This book would be helpful in valuing an existing collection
of toy or model trains.

I have known Russ for a number of years and have very much enjoyed his uncanny ability to tell a story with his lens. It doesn't matter if it showcasing steam in the 1950's to diesels today, he is an outstanding rail photographer. Russ' work isn't limited to just Massachusetts, he has traveled all over the United States and abroad to capture the esscence of railroading. This book just touches on a small portion of his great talent. I'm glad that this volume was written so that his photography can be shared with others.

I checked this book out of the library, brought it home and it sat for a day until my 3.5 year boy found "the story about the train". He loves to "read" it to me! We have lots of books around our home, but the combination of the train, the colors, and the neat things pictured is captivating to he and my 2 yr old girl. The large size fills up their laps and they have a great time with this book. I am here to buy it!

This is a 10-page board book for toddlers and young children. It is not about a train song in regular terms, it is about the sounds that the trains and train workers make as they go about their train business. Each passage contains sounds such as "All Aboard" and "ding, ding ding". The text is simple and rhyming. I love the passage "by now some are singing, babies giggle, grown-ups snooze-we're bouncing to the rhythm of the chugga-chugga-choos".

Because Lionel publishes these books the illustrations are realistic, much more realistic than other board books featuring trains that are not published by Lionel. The trains featured in this board book are the Super Chief diesel engine pulling silver coaches; some with dome tops and also a black steam locomotive with tender and brown coaches. The story line features passengers boarding and disembarking at a train station and looking at a traffic jam of cars and a car accident as the train goes by unhindered by the problems on the road.

Both my children enjoy this book as they are real rail fans. If you enjoy this book please note it is one of a series of "Little Lionel" board books.