Thomas Comes to Breakfast

Thomas and Friends

by W. Awdry

Book by Awdry, The Rev. W.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Trains, Fiction

Hardcover

Published January 1, 2002

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

[Wendy Lu]

Have been reading this with my friend's kids! The littler one has a set of three books (including this one) that we have been going through for every book-time :)

[lnich]

Having read the board book version of this story as well as the original longer version, I found the additional information in the longer version more appealing to me as an adult. However, the board book adaptation was lot more fun to read with my nephew!

[Daniel Fevrin]

My son is 4 and he learned to read this book. Very easy sentences for kids his age.

[Alyce Caswell]

Not as bad as the "Close Shave" story...but close!

[Julie]

Bad Thomas!

Unfortunately, one of Colin's favorites.

[Amy]

This book is a little weird--Thomas accidentally crashes into a family's wall while they are eating breakfast.

The interactive parts are fun. (Example: "What can you do on your own?")

[Theresa]

early reader based on the thomas the tank engine stories

[DaHonna]

My baby LOVES Thomas so he LOVES this story. I have read it so many times that he almost knows it by heart.

[Erin Lynn]

I read this when I was babysitting.

I think this was a fun book, and I really thought that the writing feature of the book was awesome. It makes the book interactive and educational.

[V]

This morning, before leaving for story-time, I told T that the library has two new Thomas books and he almost exploded with excitement. "I have an idea. Let's get our books first and then go to 'torytime! That's a great idea!" he exclaimed. (He really likes to come up with "great ideas" and tell you that they are "great ideas.") We stayed longer than usual and it was past our nap time when we came home, but he just had to read this right away!

V's Review

Thomas crashes through a house in this interactive book for early readers.

This is a Step Into Reading book at the Step 1 Level. I have read a few other Step Into Reading books to T, and this one is different - it is interactive. There are questions to answer, pictures to draw, and a matching game to play. This made the book more engaging than a straightforward story, and it prompted more conversation than usual between T and me.

As a parent and retired teacher I have mixed feelings about Step Into Reading books. On the one hand, they are very simple, with many sight words and much repetition. They have high appeal because they are based on popular characters (Thomas, Buzz Lightyear, etc.). On the other hand, the preponderance of sight words can prevent the creation of a meaningful story, and the focus on popular characters reaffirms the value and importance of those same characters rather than widening a child's worldview. Overall, I think they have value in building a budding reader's confidence.

T's Review
(age 2 years and 11 months)

V: Did you like this one?

T: Yeah, I really liked it.

V: What did you think was awesome about it?

T: How he gets egg on his nose.

V: Did you like the games in it? ... Which was your favorite?

T: Yeah ... I liked the matching game. Now let's read this one! [holds up second Thomas book]