Thomas's Christmas Delivery

All Ages

Birth - 12 months

by Wilbert Vere Awdry
Illustration by Tommy Stubbs

It is Christmas eve, and Thomas wishes he was safe and warm in his shed with the other engines. But Thomas is a Really Useful Engine and has several important deliveries to make. Will he get home in time to make sure his stocking has been carefully hung? And when a big blizzard blows up, Thomas fears that Father Christmas may not find the engine shed at all.

The Reverend W Awdry first started telling his young son tales of Thomas, Percy and the other Really Useful Engines in 1944. In 1945, he started writing the tales down, and upon their publication they were immediately embraced by train lovers in Great Britain and worldwide. Before his death in 1997, the Reverend wrote 26 volumes of stories that continue to thrill generations of young readers.

Age: 3 Year-olds | Title: Thomas's Christmas Delivery | Author: Wilbert Vere Awdry | Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers

Why we chose this book

Thomas spreads the Christmas spirit of helping others in Thomas's Christmas Delivery. Many children already recognize the good-spirited train engine, so they can hop right on this holiday adventure. The pictures are colored, crisp, and fully detailed - plenty for little ones to observe while you're reading. The story has a clear plot with one to two paragraphs per page, and fun sound-effect words every time Thomas 'speaks'; "Peep! Peep! Peeeeep!"

Your child may be beginning to understand the excitement of Christmas and understand some of Thomas' concern about being a good little engine and having his stocking filled. Like Thomas, children also exhibit a strong desire to feel important and needed. The positive, good-natured attitude of the town is nice for young readers to see, as everyone in the town pitches in to load and unload Thomas.

My three-year-old friend Sam is a Thomas fan, so he loved the pictures of Thomas in action. He has a Thomas toy, which he played with on his leg while I read the story. I took my time turning the pages so Sam could fully study and enjoy the pictures.

--Audra