Day of the Diesels (Thomas & Friends)

Thomas and Friends

by W. Awdry, Tommy Stubbs

In the new Thomas & Friends direct-to-DVD movie, Day of the Diesels, the devious Diesel Engines are up to no good—and it's going to take some 'steamwork' to stop them. Little boys age 3-6 will thrill to this full-color, hardcover storybook that captures all of the fun, mystery, and excitement of Thomas the Tank Engine's latest adventure.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

48 pages, Hardcover

First published August 9, 2011

About the author

Wilbert Vere Awdry, OBE, better known as the Rev. W. Awdry, was an English clergyman, railway enthusiast and children's author, and creator of Thomas the Tank Engine, who starred in Awdry's acclaimed Railway Series.

The characters that would make Awdry famous, and the first stories featuring them, were invented in 1943 to amuse his son Christopher during a bout of measles. The first book (The Three Railway Engines) was published in 1945, and by the time Awdry stopped writing in 1972, The Railway Series numbered 26 books. Christopher subsequently added further books to the series.

Reviews

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the 24 hours that we have owned this book, I've read it out loud 8 times and heard it read out loud at least 10 more times by my husband, so I'll be darned if I can't count it toward my Goodreads book goal.

4 stars because the ending was a little predictable.

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is no Caldecott contender, that's for sure. This gets 5 stars since my nearly 3 year old Thomas the Train fanatic son loves it. I read it, and then I re-read it, and then I read it another 6 plus times in the past few days.

In case any 3 year olds are reading this: his current favorites are this aforementioned book, The Lego Book, So Many Houses, Richard Scarry's Cars and Trucks and Things That Go, The Little Red Caboose, and Green Eggs and Ham. From those choices, Richard Scarry wins hands down (parent perspective).

[Kelsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m not sure if this is Diesel 10’s origin story, but it was confusing to hear about him and the other Diesel engines being nice at first because I had just finished the Diesel 10 Means Trouble book and in that story he was just established as a fully evil character. Did he used to be nice and then went bad?

This book felt like it had a little more plot to it compared with other books in the series, but it still wasn’t enough for me to fully enjoy the reading experience. The Thomas & Friends series is fine enough, but it just isn’t engaging for me. It feels outdated and I think the illustrations are very repetitive and the trains look rather creepy.

[Jillian Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read it to my nephews as they love anything Thomas, but compared with so many other Thomas books, it was much lighter on engaging story. It lost me, lost one of my nephews and that was with me making the special voices he wanted.

There are so many amazing books out there for kids, they could have had a lot more fun with this one and made it really engaging.

[Baby Hall]

Q

[Evan Micheals · Rating 2 out of 5]

Themes of Racial Superiority run through this book, but look at what happened to the Diesels in the end. I could not help but think this was a metaphor for the glory days of the British Empire. I suspect the views towards Diesels is a reflection of how the English saw India in the late 40's before Indian Independance.

[Jacqueline · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this entry in the Thomas DVD adaptions series. The story was more action filled then most and the art was lovely. My annoyance at Awdry still receiving author credit still stands though.

[Elizabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maybe it's because I'm not a "young boy ages 2-5," but I can't tell any of the trains apart, and I can't read any of their facial expressions.

[Jessica Nekuda · Rating 5 out of 5]

my son is 2. hes in love with trains! this book was our morning cuddle book. we watched the movie last night before supper and bath.