Thomas Classic 70th Anniversary Collection - 26 Books

I became interested in this after reading and watching several Youtube videos on these older stories on the original Thomas The Tank classic stories. Growing up and having my own kids, I was exposed like most people to the "modern" day Thomas The Tank of CGI tv cartoons and Tomy plastic toys - and I honestly thought that this was the extent of the franchise. So I was intrigued to find out that it had a much richer history with the Reverend Wilbert Awdry writing these stories for his child and basing them off real railroads and real railroad events. The Reverend himself was an avid model railroader so much of these stories influenced his model railroad building and layouts and vice-versa. These books are all hardcovers, beautifully presented in a hard case which opens up nice to reveal all the volumes. They feature all the original "older" artwork and thus feature non of the new "modern" CGI work. The are also "small" in size and I've read several complaints about this but I find no issues with handling them and in fact, they make the perfect size for young hands. They measure about 14.5 x 10.5 cm. The books and box feel high quality to me in terms of finish, build and print. A last comment I'd like to share is that even though the stories in this series is clearly aimed at young minds, they are not necessarily childish. There are references to real railroads, their operations (e.g. narrow gauge, turntables, issues with grades - hills) and subtle hints of story elements like growing older ("an old engine sits in his shed and remembers the old times - cause that is what old engines do). Buy this for a young one to enjoy today and keep it for a long time in memory of stories and art from a long time ago of a world we all dream to live in.

This box set is a great collection of the Rev. W. Awdry Railway Series. It's a shame that HIIT doesn't have a set for the books Christopher wrote or a complete canon of both writers and the supplemental books that created the island of Sodor. Each book contains, usually, 4 stories (1 or 2 books have 5 stories) and I read 2 stories a night to my son. After reading every book, he immediately wanted to read each one again in reverse order. I enjoyed looking at the publication dates and seeing when in history these stories were written. Before settling in for the story, my son would pretend to read the book, using the pictures to tell his own stories. The British English wasn't a hurdle and, in my opinion, is good for broadening his understanding of language. They are not primary readers, so it will be a couple of years before he reads them himself, but they're timeless stories that I have no doubt he voluntarily read. Since these are the original stories, the books don't focus primarily on Thomas and, during later publication years, focus considerably on characters based on real life, narrow gauge engines operating at the time. Most of the familiar main characters from the Shining Time Station version are featured in at least one book and the early publication years are the stories every Railway Series fan recognizes. My most significant regret is how tightly HIIT controls the original stories by Rev. W. and Christopher in order to protect the current versions of Thomas and Friends. In my view, the two products are not comparable and HIIT or Matel or whomever is losing revenue from nostalgia buyers.

These little books are amazing! My children (1 and 3) love them for the illustrations and the story. I love the classic look and feel of them. There are a few chapters/storylines in each book making good stopping points for little ones. Well made! Excellent quality! Color illustrations are nice and traditional and on every page alongside the easy to read text.

My likes about it is it is the order of how it should be for all the books titles of the Railway Series. But the one thing that I dislike about it is in the "Henry The Green Engine" Story, it has a story that almost like a Percy one called "Percy And The Trousers" Story. Because it only talks about Percy. No problem, just my opinion.

Bought this for our Thomas-obsessed 2-year-old's birthday. It's been a hit so far, even if he can only ask for the "blue one" or the "Gordon one"... haha! Very charming illustrations and narrative. Multiple stories within each book, and each book is small enough to be easy for even toddler hands to hold (although they are paper and not cardboard or fabric, so be careful!) The contents are much less grating or garish than the current CGI Thomas books being printed today. Love the beautiful illustrations on the box. Very happy with this addition to our library!

I grew up watching the TV series narrated by George Carlin (US version) and Ringo Starr (UK version. Will watch them with my own kids and they love reading these books! Definitely great to see where the TV series came from and love all the English terms that come up in the books! 10/10 should read to your kids!

I love this box set. We’re watching the classic episodes with our toddler but when we don’t want him to watch too much tv, we read. The box and books are attractive and easy for a toddler to use (grantee he loves the different book colors and taking them out of the box to put them back in the box). Will buy again as gift for others.

Sometimes it's hard to gauge the quality of used books and there packaging. But for this order there were no surprises. Books are in great condition, and the box is a little banged up, just as it was described in the description.

Beautiful set of books I am looking forward to reading them with my grandson.

I bought the Thomas Classic 70th Anniversary Collection as a gift for a friend’s son, and it was very well received. The set includes 26 of the original stories by Rev. W. Awdry, all in sturdy hardcover editions. The illustrations stay true to the classic style, which gives the books a nostalgic feel that parents can also appreciate. The box keeps everything neatly stored, and the quality of the books feels durable enough to hold up to frequent reading. While it’s not the cheapest option, it’s a thoughtful and lasting gift for any child who enjoys trains or classic stories. My friend’s son seems to enjoy it a lot, and it’s nice to see these timeless stories still making an impact.

Wonderful stories from a gentle bygone era.

I bought this set of books as my son is Thomas mad! Also I have good memories of reading these and watching the TV series when I was young. Although the original series never covered all the books, so I thought it would be nice to introduce my children to the originals! Firstly the cost was amazing! If I were to buy all these books individually it would have cost over £207 and that's not including the box holding the books. Secondly the presentation is fantastic. Each book is nicely bound with original artwork and it all comes in a fantastic looking box. Delivery was quick and it all arrived in perfect condition. Overall I would recommend this to anyone who likes reading or to read to others and it is excellent value for money!!!

Bought used at a steep discount. Only the outer box is broken. Stories are amazing!