Thomas and His Friends Collection

This book allows fans of Thomas to rediscover the original classic stories about the world's best-loved tank engine. In this sixty-fifth anniversary year, Thomas and his friends remain as popular as ever, loved by millions all over the world; the original "Railway Series" books continue to delight children of all ages. This new anniversary edition includes the four original Thomas stories, with the engines beautifully brought to life by new reproductions of C. Reginald Dalby's illustrations. Plus, eight pages of exclusive material give an insight into the creation of the famous "Railway Series".

Reverend Wilbert Awdry was born in Hampshire in 1911. He grew up close to the railway and was convinced that the steam engines all had different personalities. He used to imagine conversations between them. Later when he was grown up and his son Christopher became ill with measles, Wilbert invented the Thomas stories to entertain him. Christopher kept asking for more stories and Wilbert began writing them. The first of the railway series was published in 1945. Awdry wrote 26 Railway books in total before Christopher took over the series.