Thomas the Tank Engine the Railway Series: James the Red Engine (Classic Thomas the Tank Engine) Hardcover – January 1, 2015

James was introduced in the second book of "The Railway Series", but we get to know him a little better in this one. Thomas, Edward, Henry, Gordon, Annie & Clarabel are back, as is Sir Topham Hatt (who was called The Fat Director in No. 1 and No. 2, and now goes by The Fat Controller, as is explained in the forward: "Dear Friends of Edward, Gordon, Henry and Thomas, Thank you for your kind letters; here is the new book for which you asked. James, who crashed into the story of Thomas, the Tank Engine, settles down and becomes a useful engine. We are nationalised now, but the same engines still work the Region. I am glad, too, to tell you that the Fat Director, who understands our friends' ways, is still in charge, but is now the Fat Controller. I hope you will enjoy this book too. The Author" There are four stories within the book (James and the Top-Hat / James and the Boot-lace / Troublesome Trucks / James and the Express), and we love the old-fashioned feel of these books, and their small size (@ 4 1/2"h x 5 3/4"w), which is perfect for smaller hands. It was first published in 1948, and this edition was published in 2007. Our older grandson was about 2 1/2 when he became completely infatuated with Thomas, which led Grandpa and I to beginning our first collections for him... trains, annuals, but - first and foremost - The Railway Series!I really enjoy this neat old series of 42 books; the first 26 written by the Rev. W. Awdry, with the remaining 16 written by his son, Christopher (for whom the books were begun in the first place!) Our older grandson (almost 6 now) still enjoys his collections, but his younger brother (closing in on 2) is already showing strong interest - with another grandchild due in September, the Thomas collections have been a great investment for us.Read no further if you're not looking to start a collection, but if you think you'd like to, let me save you the trouble of looking up all of the titles. I'll list them in the "comments" below.

I have read this book to my son probably 80 times. James is a jerk who doesn't listen and he pays for it with ridicule. This book is worth it because it explains why people are always making jokes at him about shoelaces.

Update: After I left the review (below), seller contacted me by email and apologized for the book not matching the description. It was an honest mistake, and he/she offered to let me send the book back for a full refund. I didn't because it's a good book, and my son likes it. I very much appreciated the seller reaching out to me. She stated that she will be fixing the listing so that it will be accurate for future shoppers.i was very disappointed when I received this book. It states that it is the "Face Board Book Series". That's not true. It is from a different series, which means it's a totally different book than described. The Face Series books are like the ones pictured in this listing. They have giant 3D faces that make sounds when touched. I was trying to replace a special book (like the one pictured and described) that I have had since 2010. Sure, the listing days that the cover may not be the same. An updated cover would've been okay. This wasn't an updated cover. It is a completely different book series and a totally different story inside. It is not an updated version of the Face Board Book Series as described. The book I received is okay, but I could've gotten it for $5-6 with free shipping. Because of the inaccurate description, series listing, and photo in this listing, I gladly paid extra for the book and even paid shipping costs when I am a Prime customer. I never pay shipping, but I was happy to in this case to get such a sought-after replacement to my little boy's old book. Needless to say, I was bummed when I opened the package to see a totally different book. It's a good book, but it wasn't what I was looking for.

My son loved this story. We enjoyed reading it together about how James got to the island of Sodor. It is also teaches to follow rules, know how to work in a group and think about others :).

I bought this book "used, in good condition" on Amazon from the seller. There is a sound function (I guess you're supposed to be able to press the nose and hear a sound) this doesn't work. I am disappointed and so is my son.

My son is a BIG fan of Thomas and James! He definitely loves the book being portable when we were traveling.

The book was in good shape, no scuffs, marks, etc. The book is supposed to talk when you push on the Thomas cover. The book does make "noise" when you push the cover but the voice is so distorted you can not understand it.

These are great little readers. The wheels do spin adding to the child's imagination. I ordered them for a 3 year old who loves to look at the pictures and play with it between readings.