James in a Mess and Other Thomas the Tank Engine Stories (Thomas & Friends) (Pictureback(R)) [Paperback]

Rev. W. Awdry (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 16, 1993 | Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up | Series: Pictureback(R)

Full-color photos . James makes fun of his friends because they need paint jobs, but when an accident ruins his appearance, James finds himself in a real jam! Also included are "Bertie's Chase," "Percy and the Signal," and "Percy Proves a Point."  

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Full-color photos . James makes fun of his friends because they need paint jobs, but when an accident ruins his appearance, James finds himself in a real jam! Also included are "Bertie's Chase," "Percy and the Signal," and "Percy Proves a Point."  

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers (March 16, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679838953
• ISBN-13: 978-0679838951
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 0.2 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #405,666 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars another Thomas miss, June 15, 2005

By 

Jamie R. Vislocky "Jamie" (california) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: James in a Mess and Other Thomas the Tank Engine Stories (Thomas & Friends) (Pictureback(R)) (Paperback)

Without going on too much, these stories are fragmented, unclear, poorly written, and the plots are lame and basically make no sense. I wrote a more in depth reveiw for "Edward's Exploit", which we bought along with this one. While some other (but most definitely not all) Thomas books revolve around a core group of charaters and seem to teach lessons and have some excitement to them, this book has a new character speaking less and less sense on every page. My toddler can't get into these.

My two year old will read "Trouble for Thomas", "A Cow on the Line" and "Thomas gets Tricked" over and over and over, but he lost interest in this collection of stories before we had even read it once. It wouldn't have been too hard for me to have read one story before buying this, but since the other Thomas books we had we such hits I figured I didn't need to . . . BIG mistake!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not for younger Thomas fans, November 29, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: James in a Mess and Other Thomas the Tank Engine Stories (Thomas & Friends) (Pictureback(R)) (Paperback)

Our 4 year-old is excited about Thomas the Tank Engine characters, but I don't think he understands the points which these stories are making. I think he likes the *idea* of it being a Thomas book more than he enjoys listening to these stories themselves. He is just as happy to look briefly at the pictures while I summarize the story.

I know that the stories intend to teach good moral lessons, but I am sometimes uncomfortable about how they attempt to do this. For example, James is rude to some less polished train cars, so they take delight when James' resentful freight cars make James crash, causing tar to get all over James' nice paint job. The underlying message (don't be rude to others) may be lost on children who see all the characters behaving in unkind ways toward others.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars James in a Mess and Other Thomas Stories, March 25, 2000

By 

"persy" - See all my reviews

This review is from: James in a Mess and Other Thomas the Tank Engine Stories (Thomas & Friends) (Pictureback(R)) (Paperback)

Not only does this collection of tales contain the usually wonderful Thomas tales, but it features actual photographs to accompany the stories. These add a realistic touch to the sticky mess James gets in after making fun of another engine, only to have a load of goo land all over him! All the tales (several more follow) follow suit. For example, 'Percy Proves A Point' is a fun illustration of the pleasant surprises that await someone who push themselves just a little harder than they thought they could...and the joy of celebrating those victories with friends.