Christopher Awdry | |
|---|---|
 Awdry at theNational Railway Museum inYork in 1987 | |
| Born | Christopher Vere Awdry (1940-07-02)2 July 1940 (age 84) |
| Education | Worksop College |
| Occupation | Author |
| Years active | 1983–2011 |
| Notable work | Thomas the Tank Engine |
| Children | ` |
| Parent(s) | Wilbert Awdry (1911–1997) Margaret Wale (1912–1989) |
Christopher Vere Awdry (born 2 July 1940)[1] is an English author. He is best known for his contributions toThe Railway Series of books featuringThomas the Tank Engine, which was started by his father,Wilbert Awdry (1911–1997). He also produced children's books based on a number of other railways, as well as non-fiction articles and books onheritage railways. He was born atDevizes, the family moving toKings Norton, Birmingham, when he was aged five months. Awdry was educated atWorksop College, a public school in North Nottinghamshire.
Christopher Awdry is in a way responsible for the creation of Thomas and his railway, which started as a story told to him by his father during a bout ofmeasles in 1942. When his father retired in 1972, he wrote several Thomas books himself. The series came to be calledThomas & Friends after that.[2]
In 2006, the current publishers, Egmont Books, decided to reprint the entire series in their original form; the 14 books by Christopher were re-released at the beginning of August 2007. His favourite character isToby.
The new interest from the publishers has gone beyond merely re-releasing the existing books. Christopher Awdry has written a new book for the series, titledThomas and Victoria, which focuses on stories relating to therailway preservation movement. This, the 41st book in the series, was released on 3 September 2007. In April 2010, Egmont Books confirmed that another Railway Series book, No. 42 in the series, would be published in 2011.[3] The publication date was later confirmed as 4 July 2011, and the illustrator asClive Spong.[4] It was published under the titleThomas and His Friends. This book would become the final book in the Railway Series to be published.
In 2001, Christopher Awdry wrote six stories featured in two books concerning railway safety, which were distributed to every primary school and library in the country (Bad Days for Thomas and His Friends / More Bad Days for Thomas and His Friends). The train operatorVirgin Trains produced a colouring book for young passengers based on the stories.
A series of six books has been produced featuring locomotives from theEastbourne Miniature Steam Railway, and illustrated by Marc Vyvyan-Jones.
Published by Dean (Reed Children's Books), 1990–1997, illustrated by Ken Stott.
(Also published as Egmont 'mini books' (1997–1998))
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