Tampilkan postingan dengan label thomas the train. Tampilkan semua postingan
Tampilkan postingan dengan label thomas the train. Tampilkan semua postingan
Minggu, 01 Januari 2012
A Brief History of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends
Thomas the Tank Engine gained the hearts of many children since the Railway Series of books first came out back in 1945, which isn't surprising considering Thomas the Tank Engine books have sold about eighty million copies all around the globe. As a celebration of the series' 60th anniversary, here is some history about Thomas the Tank Engine.
Back in 1943, little Christopher Awdry, a three years-old son of an Anglican clergyman named Wilbert Awdry, was suffering from scarlet fever. Due to the nature of the disease he was forced to remain in isolation. As a way to keep him entertained, his father started telling him several stories about a group of trains living out adventures and having fun together, and thus, Thomas the Tank engine was born.
As is to be expected with any child, he demanded his father to tell him the stories over again and again, and of course corrected him each and every time an inconsistency took place. To "protect" himself from his son's corrections, Reverend Awdry started writing down the stories onto pieces of paper to remember every detail.
To add to the storytelling, the Reverend made small sketches and drawings of cute small steam locomotives on the paper, along with the train stories. He drew a set of steam locomotives in an engine shed and added a human face to each of them, thus showing a "human" expression for each one.
One night, while his father was telling him one of the stories, little Christopher noticed a sketch of a small train with a sad face on the paper from which the Reverend was reading. Naturally, he asked his dad why that little train was so unhappy, and inquired what his name was. The Reverend then said the first name that came to his mind: Edward. That was when the first tale came to life. Since then, about a hundred small moral Thomas the Tank Engine tales came out.
The Reverend's wife thought that those stories were good enough to be published, so they started looking for an editor. Soon, Mr. Edmund Ward (a retired businessman) showed his interest in those stories, and since then there has been a Thomas the Tank Engine book released almost every year.
Surprisingly, Thomas the Tank Engine himself did not appear in the Railway Series until the second book came out in 1946!
The books came with colorful designs that were attractive to children. With a size appropriate to fit a little kid's hand, the books contained three stories and the stories were written on the left page, while an illustration of a certain part of the narrated events was on the right page. The first illustrator for the first dozen of Thomas the Tank Engine books was a man named C. Reginald Dalby, who established the appearance of all the characters based on the Reverend Awdry's sketches and the aspect of real steam locomotives.
Many of the stories are based on real happenings and people. For instance, one of Reverend's Awdry colleagues was a steam collector and is known to have inspired the character of the Vicar who saves "Trevor the Traction Engine" from the scrap heap. Being the most famous train of all times, Thomas the Tank Engine continues bringing healthy entertainment and marvelous, timeless magic stories to children around the world.
Copyright © Jared Winston, 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Kamis, 24 November 2011
Thomas the Train: The Nicest Train Ever
Who doesn't know Thomas the train? With a huge number of different stories and over sixty years of continuous success, there is virtually no place on earth that hasn't heard of the adventures of this little talking locomotive that resides on the magical island of Sodor. Thomas the Train and all of his friends have brought magic into children's lives for generations, and continue to do so tale after tale.
Thomas was born back in the year of 1943 when its creator Wilbert Awdry, a reverend who had been fond of trains since he was a small kid, began making up stories for his son Christopher, who was ill and had to rest in bed for quite a while. The stories were about a happy little locomotive named Thomas and some of his friends that consisted of different characters based on different models of locomotives.
His son soon became a fan of his father's stories, and as such he could remember every single detail of every single story. To preserve consistency between them, the reverend began taking notes about each character he made up and the key actions they performed, and soon he had an entire description of every single one of those characters including their moods and way of talking.
As little Christopher asked his father to tell him the stories once and again, the reverend soon memorized them and was able to tell them exactly the same way each time without even reading them.
In 1945, the reverend Awdry's wife encouraged him to get those stories published to entertain not only Christopher, but also a lot of other kids. Soon, they met a retired businessman that was looking for something to do in his retirement. That man's name was Edmund Ward. Mr. Ward decided to publish the Thomas the Train tales and soon the first book came out. It was a booming success.
Several years and twenty six Thomas the Train books later, reverend Awdry decided to stop writing because he was getting too old for that. He passed the torch to his son Christopher, who continued writing stories for the Thomas the Train series of books.
Nowadays, Thomas the Train stories are available worldwide, and have been translated into more than twenty languages. Pretty good for a talking train who has never left the island of Sodor!
Today, Thomas the Train has his own TV show and a complete line of merchandise for children. From DVD's and videos to toys and games, this small friend of all has really conquered the hearts of literally hundreds of thousand children not only across the world, but also across the years.
It really makes me happy to see that Thomas the Train and his stories still are able to charm the world. The kind of healthy entertainment and fun they provide is becoming rarer and rarer these days, and finding adequate stories for kids seems to be harder than ever. I hope we can enjoy Thomas the Train for many times to come, as I am sure that our grandchildren will be touched by the Thomas the Train stories just like we and our children are.
Copyright © Jared Winston, 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Thomas was born back in the year of 1943 when its creator Wilbert Awdry, a reverend who had been fond of trains since he was a small kid, began making up stories for his son Christopher, who was ill and had to rest in bed for quite a while. The stories were about a happy little locomotive named Thomas and some of his friends that consisted of different characters based on different models of locomotives.
His son soon became a fan of his father's stories, and as such he could remember every single detail of every single story. To preserve consistency between them, the reverend began taking notes about each character he made up and the key actions they performed, and soon he had an entire description of every single one of those characters including their moods and way of talking.
As little Christopher asked his father to tell him the stories once and again, the reverend soon memorized them and was able to tell them exactly the same way each time without even reading them.
In 1945, the reverend Awdry's wife encouraged him to get those stories published to entertain not only Christopher, but also a lot of other kids. Soon, they met a retired businessman that was looking for something to do in his retirement. That man's name was Edmund Ward. Mr. Ward decided to publish the Thomas the Train tales and soon the first book came out. It was a booming success.
Several years and twenty six Thomas the Train books later, reverend Awdry decided to stop writing because he was getting too old for that. He passed the torch to his son Christopher, who continued writing stories for the Thomas the Train series of books.
Nowadays, Thomas the Train stories are available worldwide, and have been translated into more than twenty languages. Pretty good for a talking train who has never left the island of Sodor!
Today, Thomas the Train has his own TV show and a complete line of merchandise for children. From DVD's and videos to toys and games, this small friend of all has really conquered the hearts of literally hundreds of thousand children not only across the world, but also across the years.
It really makes me happy to see that Thomas the Train and his stories still are able to charm the world. The kind of healthy entertainment and fun they provide is becoming rarer and rarer these days, and finding adequate stories for kids seems to be harder than ever. I hope we can enjoy Thomas the Train for many times to come, as I am sure that our grandchildren will be touched by the Thomas the Train stories just like we and our children are.
Copyright © Jared Winston, 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Minggu, 20 November 2011
Thomas the Train: The Nicest Train Ever
Who doesn't know Thomas the train? With a huge number of different stories and over sixty years of continuous success, there is virtually no place on earth that hasn't heard of the adventures of this little talking locomotive that resides on the magical island of Sodor. Thomas the Train and all of his friends have brought magic into children's lives for generations, and continue to do so tale after tale.
Thomas was born back in the year of 1943 when its creator Wilbert Awdry, a reverend who had been fond of trains since he was a small kid, began making up stories for his son Christopher, who was ill and had to rest in bed for quite a while. The stories were about a happy little locomotive named Thomas and some of his friends that consisted of different characters based on different models of locomotives.
His son soon became a fan of his father's stories, and as such he could remember every single detail of every single story. To preserve consistency between them, the reverend began taking notes about each character he made up and the key actions they performed, and soon he had an entire description of every single one of those characters including their moods and way of talking.
As little Christopher asked his father to tell him the stories once and again, the reverend soon memorized them and was able to tell them exactly the same way each time without even reading them.
In 1945, the reverend Awdry's wife encouraged him to get those stories published to entertain not only Christopher, but also a lot of other kids. Soon, they met a retired businessman that was looking for something to do in his retirement. That man's name was Edmund Ward. Mr. Ward decided to publish the Thomas the Train tales and soon the first book came out. It was a booming success.
Several years and twenty six Thomas the Train books later, reverend Awdry decided to stop writing because he was getting too old for that. He passed the torch to his son Christopher, who continued writing stories for the Thomas the Train series of books.
Nowadays, Thomas the Train stories are available worldwide, and have been translated into more than twenty languages. Pretty good for a talking train who has never left the island of Sodor!
Today, Thomas the Train has his own TV show and a complete line of merchandise for children. From DVD's and videos to toys and games, this small friend of all has really conquered the hearts of literally hundreds of thousand children not only across the world, but also across the years.
It really makes me happy to see that Thomas the Train and his stories still are able to charm the world. The kind of healthy entertainment and fun they provide is becoming rarer and rarer these days, and finding adequate stories for kids seems to be harder than ever. I hope we can enjoy Thomas the Train for many times to come, as I am sure that our grandchildren will be touched by the Thomas the Train stories just like we and our children are.
Copyright © Jared Winston, 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Thomas was born back in the year of 1943 when its creator Wilbert Awdry, a reverend who had been fond of trains since he was a small kid, began making up stories for his son Christopher, who was ill and had to rest in bed for quite a while. The stories were about a happy little locomotive named Thomas and some of his friends that consisted of different characters based on different models of locomotives.
His son soon became a fan of his father's stories, and as such he could remember every single detail of every single story. To preserve consistency between them, the reverend began taking notes about each character he made up and the key actions they performed, and soon he had an entire description of every single one of those characters including their moods and way of talking.
As little Christopher asked his father to tell him the stories once and again, the reverend soon memorized them and was able to tell them exactly the same way each time without even reading them.
In 1945, the reverend Awdry's wife encouraged him to get those stories published to entertain not only Christopher, but also a lot of other kids. Soon, they met a retired businessman that was looking for something to do in his retirement. That man's name was Edmund Ward. Mr. Ward decided to publish the Thomas the Train tales and soon the first book came out. It was a booming success.
Several years and twenty six Thomas the Train books later, reverend Awdry decided to stop writing because he was getting too old for that. He passed the torch to his son Christopher, who continued writing stories for the Thomas the Train series of books.
Nowadays, Thomas the Train stories are available worldwide, and have been translated into more than twenty languages. Pretty good for a talking train who has never left the island of Sodor!
Today, Thomas the Train has his own TV show and a complete line of merchandise for children. From DVD's and videos to toys and games, this small friend of all has really conquered the hearts of literally hundreds of thousand children not only across the world, but also across the years.
It really makes me happy to see that Thomas the Train and his stories still are able to charm the world. The kind of healthy entertainment and fun they provide is becoming rarer and rarer these days, and finding adequate stories for kids seems to be harder than ever. I hope we can enjoy Thomas the Train for many times to come, as I am sure that our grandchildren will be touched by the Thomas the Train stories just like we and our children are.
Copyright © Jared Winston, 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Rabu, 10 Februari 2010
Brief Overlook of Some Fun Thomas the Train Toys and Sets
Thomas the Train toys are specially designed to help your children learn while growing up while at the same time keeping them entertained, and this goal has definitely been successful since Thomas and his friends have fascinated children of many generations - more than sixty years! You can find a wide assortment of different Thomas the Train toys and merchandise, but this quick overlook will cover toy trains and train set accessories.
I have been a fan of all the Thomas the Train toys for quite a while, and I thought someone could find a quick summary of the train sets information interesting, so I decided to write this article. I hope you enjoy it.
Manually-powered Thomas the Train toys
The most known Thomas the Train toys distributor is Learning Curve; their wooden sets are just delightful. They are able to operate on the wooden tracks provided by Learning Curve, and also on those similar tracks manufactured by BRIO. These wooden sets are highly recommended for children aged 2 to 5, because at those young ages the children tend to enjoy manually using the trains on the ground or any other surface, so they won't get to fully enjoy more complex, remotely controlled train sets. Learning Curve also introduced the "Take Along" Thomas the Train toys series that was made of metal. In this series, the trains connect with the coaches by using magnets, which is a smart idea. The track is made of plastic, and the only disadvantage I found is that they are not at all compatible with the older wooden tracks.
Other good metal models of Thomas the Train and his friends were those manufactured by ERTL, but unfortunately the company discontinued the series.
Another great series of Thomas the Train toys is the line manufactured by TOMY. The series includes plastic models and tracks, and many kids prefer them over the metal ones mentioned above. This company also launched the "My first Thomas the Train" series of manually powered plastic train sets designed for younger children, with rubber wheels and a good plastic track.
Electrically-powered Thomas the Train toys
Electrically powered train sets are recommended for older kids. Among the manufacturers of the best electrical Thomas the Train toys, you can find big known names like Bachmann and Tomica. Battery or transformer powered Thomas the Train characters and accessories are available, and both of them also made tracks available in several sizes. They even manufactured some remotely controlled sets too! Other manufacturers of electrically powered trains were Lionel and Hornby.
The electrical sets are not my favorites. In fact, I prefer the old wooden sets, which seem to be more useful for a developing child than other sets.
Of course, your preferences on Thomas the Train toys may not be the same as mine. Feel free to visit your local toy store and ask the salespeople about all the available different Thomas the Train toys. You will surely find a train set that meets your expectations, and will definitely be able to provide your child a highly entertaining experience while helping him or her learn fun things too.
Copyright © Jared Winston, 2006. All Rights Reserved.
I have been a fan of all the Thomas the Train toys for quite a while, and I thought someone could find a quick summary of the train sets information interesting, so I decided to write this article. I hope you enjoy it.
Manually-powered Thomas the Train toys
The most known Thomas the Train toys distributor is Learning Curve; their wooden sets are just delightful. They are able to operate on the wooden tracks provided by Learning Curve, and also on those similar tracks manufactured by BRIO. These wooden sets are highly recommended for children aged 2 to 5, because at those young ages the children tend to enjoy manually using the trains on the ground or any other surface, so they won't get to fully enjoy more complex, remotely controlled train sets. Learning Curve also introduced the "Take Along" Thomas the Train toys series that was made of metal. In this series, the trains connect with the coaches by using magnets, which is a smart idea. The track is made of plastic, and the only disadvantage I found is that they are not at all compatible with the older wooden tracks.
Other good metal models of Thomas the Train and his friends were those manufactured by ERTL, but unfortunately the company discontinued the series.
Another great series of Thomas the Train toys is the line manufactured by TOMY. The series includes plastic models and tracks, and many kids prefer them over the metal ones mentioned above. This company also launched the "My first Thomas the Train" series of manually powered plastic train sets designed for younger children, with rubber wheels and a good plastic track.
Electrically-powered Thomas the Train toys
Electrically powered train sets are recommended for older kids. Among the manufacturers of the best electrical Thomas the Train toys, you can find big known names like Bachmann and Tomica. Battery or transformer powered Thomas the Train characters and accessories are available, and both of them also made tracks available in several sizes. They even manufactured some remotely controlled sets too! Other manufacturers of electrically powered trains were Lionel and Hornby.
The electrical sets are not my favorites. In fact, I prefer the old wooden sets, which seem to be more useful for a developing child than other sets.
Of course, your preferences on Thomas the Train toys may not be the same as mine. Feel free to visit your local toy store and ask the salespeople about all the available different Thomas the Train toys. You will surely find a train set that meets your expectations, and will definitely be able to provide your child a highly entertaining experience while helping him or her learn fun things too.
Copyright © Jared Winston, 2006. All Rights Reserved.
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