![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Thomas and Bruno
Join Thomas and his new friend Bruno for an ALL ENGINES GO adventure!
Diesel is given an urgent job to do, but Bruno, the new brake car, wants him to slow down and be careful. Diesel doesn’t see things the way Bruno does, and he races straight into a rockslide. Can the pair work as a team to get back on track?
Bruno is a brake car, which means his job is to slow things down. As a result, he’s not quick enough to join in the games played by the other engines, but he likes doing other things such as memorising the train schedule.
When Gordon says that an urgent delivery needs to be made to Vicarstown Lighthouse, Diesel volunteers to go because he’s the fastest locomotive on the island of Sodor and Gordon tells Bruno to go with him. Diesel wants to go the quickest way through Crumble Canyon and won’t listen when Bruno warns him of avalanches. When Diesel leads them both straight into a rockslide, they have to learn how to work together in order to get through it and make their way to the Lighthouse on time!
Christy Webster’s picture book adaptation of the THOMAS & FRIENDS episode, ‘Shake, Rattle, and Bruno’ (by Daniel Share-Strom) is an enjoyable read that suggests Bruno is neuro-divergent (he memorises the train schedule to keep calm) and emphasises the importance of listening, not rushing into things and working together in order to resolve things. Although the pictures are a little flat and generic, young readers should still enjoy the story.
I haven’t watched an episode of THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE in years, although I’m aware that it’s a different show compared to when I was young with more diverse characters (which is no bad thing in my opinion). I’m pleased to see though that the themes of friendship and learning though experience remain strong. This picture book is an adaptation of ‘Shake, Rattle, and Bruno’ by Daniel Share-Strom, so if your young reader is a fan of the show then they may already guess the story but I think there’s still a lot of enjoyment to be had from this book.
Thomas takes a bit of a back seat in this story as the focus is on Bruno, a new-to-me-character who is a cautious brake engine. I liked the suggestion that he is neuro-divergent (which I’ve assumed on the basis that he likes to recite the train schedule in order to keep himself calm in difficult situations). I liked his relationship with the arrogant, pushy Diesel who has ego enough for both of them but learns that sometimes he needs to listen and work with others.
I did find the illustrations a little flat and uninspired (but that may well just be a personal thing). There was also a moment in the story that I found a bit confusing - specifically when Bruno generates some steam ear mufflers, which I really didn’t understand at first. No doubt fans of the show and those who have read other picture books in this series will know how that all works and once I did realise what it meant then I was happy enough to go along with it but it honestly did take a couple of reads to get it.
All in all though, I thought this was an entertaining read and I’d definitely be happy to read other books in this series.
The Verdict:
Christy Webster’s picture book adaptation of the THOMAS & FRIENDS episode, ‘Shake, Rattle, and Bruno’ (by Daniel Share-Strom) is an enjoyable read that suggests Bruno is neuro-divergent (he memorises the train schedule to keep calm) and emphasises the importance of listening, not rushing into things and working together in order to resolve things. Although the pictures are a little flat and generic, young readers should still enjoy the story.
THOMAS AND BRUNO was released in the United Kingdom on 6th July 2023. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
Join Thomas and his new friend Bruno for an ALL ENGINES GO adventure!
Diesel is given an urgent job to do, but Bruno, the new brake car, wants him to slow down and be careful. Diesel doesn’t see things the way Bruno does, and he races straight into a rockslide. Can the pair work as a team to get back on track?
Bruno is a brake car, which means his job is to slow things down. As a result, he’s not quick enough to join in the games played by the other engines, but he likes doing other things such as memorising the train schedule.
When Gordon says that an urgent delivery needs to be made to Vicarstown Lighthouse, Diesel volunteers to go because he’s the fastest locomotive on the island of Sodor and Gordon tells Bruno to go with him. Diesel wants to go the quickest way through Crumble Canyon and won’t listen when Bruno warns him of avalanches. When Diesel leads them both straight into a rockslide, they have to learn how to work together in order to get through it and make their way to the Lighthouse on time!
Christy Webster’s picture book adaptation of the THOMAS & FRIENDS episode, ‘Shake, Rattle, and Bruno’ (by Daniel Share-Strom) is an enjoyable read that suggests Bruno is neuro-divergent (he memorises the train schedule to keep calm) and emphasises the importance of listening, not rushing into things and working together in order to resolve things. Although the pictures are a little flat and generic, young readers should still enjoy the story.
I haven’t watched an episode of THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE in years, although I’m aware that it’s a different show compared to when I was young with more diverse characters (which is no bad thing in my opinion). I’m pleased to see though that the themes of friendship and learning though experience remain strong. This picture book is an adaptation of ‘Shake, Rattle, and Bruno’ by Daniel Share-Strom, so if your young reader is a fan of the show then they may already guess the story but I think there’s still a lot of enjoyment to be had from this book.
Thomas takes a bit of a back seat in this story as the focus is on Bruno, a new-to-me-character who is a cautious brake engine. I liked the suggestion that he is neuro-divergent (which I’ve assumed on the basis that he likes to recite the train schedule in order to keep himself calm in difficult situations). I liked his relationship with the arrogant, pushy Diesel who has ego enough for both of them but learns that sometimes he needs to listen and work with others.
I did find the illustrations a little flat and uninspired (but that may well just be a personal thing). There was also a moment in the story that I found a bit confusing - specifically when Bruno generates some steam ear mufflers, which I really didn’t understand at first. No doubt fans of the show and those who have read other picture books in this series will know how that all works and once I did realise what it meant then I was happy enough to go along with it but it honestly did take a couple of reads to get it.
All in all though, I thought this was an entertaining read and I’d definitely be happy to read other books in this series.
The Verdict:
Christy Webster’s picture book adaptation of the THOMAS & FRIENDS episode, ‘Shake, Rattle, and Bruno’ (by Daniel Share-Strom) is an enjoyable read that suggests Bruno is neuro-divergent (he memorises the train schedule to keep calm) and emphasises the importance of listening, not rushing into things and working together in order to resolve things. Although the pictures are a little flat and generic, young readers should still enjoy the story.
THOMAS AND BRUNO was released in the United Kingdom on 6th July 2023. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
