HiT Entertainment and 20th Century-Fox have released Thomas & Friends: Steam Engine Stories, a three-disc box set serving up over two-and-a-hours worth of the little engine that could and all his friends, including 18 episodes from Seasons 8 and 9. Each disc also has plenty of fun extras that Thomas' little viewers will love, making Thomas & Friends: Steam Engine Stories a sure-fire bet for parents or grandparents looking to buy that perfect gift for under the Christmas tree this December.

I've written before about Thomas & Friends (please click here for a more detailed look at the series), and in fact, after watching Thomas & Friends: Carnival Capers, I bought more DVDs from the series for my younger children. It's such an active, eye-catching show, with an inherently dynamic visual design (having had trains as a kid, I enjoy watching those cute little models chugging around, too), and remarkably straight-forward, solid little scripts, that's it's a natural for young viewers. As I wrote in my first review, what always strikes me about Thomas & Friends is the emphasis in almost every episode on the engines being responsible in their work. They're conscientious little engines, and everyone in the stories values their hard work. As Sir Topham Hatt often says to Thomas, "You have been a very useful and reliable engine." You don't see that work ethic in too many children's series (if you see it at all), and it's a most welcome departure in my mind.

I also like this strange Island of Sodor, where engines think and talk (without moving their mouths), existing to serve man, while the people of the island stand still, in arranged poses, unmoving, while the narrator relays their thoughts. At times, Thomas & Friends can produce a most odd feeling in the viewer, with the little engines' eyes rolling expressively, while the carved wooden people stand stock still, as if transfixed. I can't say if children feel this is sometimes odd atmosphere, but I rather enjoy the strangeness of Thomas & Friends.

Let's look at the three discs included in Thomas & Friends: Steam Engine Stories:

TRACK STARS (Season 8)

Thomas Gets it Right
Thomas is given the important job of delivering a load of eggs for the island. But when he tries to cut corners and go fast, he pays for his carelessness.

Emily's New Route
Is there a monster in Black Loch? Emily thinks so, and the flour route trucks make fun of her for believing so.

Percy's Big Mistake
Is Percy headed for the scrapyard? That's what he thinks when he hears Sir Topham Hatt making plans for Percy's next (or last?) run.

As Good As Gordon
Emily thinks she can beat super-fast Gordon at his own game, but a shortage of coal hampers her efforts.

James Gets a New Coat
James' sparkling new coat of paint is beautiful, but too much time admiring it (and some pick-up jobs) has caused him to jeopardize it.

Thomas, Emily & The Snowplough
A snow storm is cause for Emily asking Thomas to use his snowplow. But Thomas doesn't listen....

TALES FROM THE TRACKS (Season 9)

Thomas and the Birthday Picnic
Thomas is take Sir Topham Hatt, his wife, and his mother on a picnic, but no matter how hard he tries, every place he decides to take them doesn't work out.

Flour Power
Diesel likes to scare Thomas, but Thomas, courtesy of a fresh coat of flour, decides to scare Diesel back.

The Magic Lamp
Peter Sam scoffs at a legend about Proteus' magic lamp, but then, alone on the dark tracks, he starts to see things that convince him otherwise.

Keeping Up With James
Sir Topham Hatt wants James and Edward to work together to pull the Presents Train, but James thinks Edward is too slow.

Tuneful Toots
Rusty loves to toot his horn, but when he enjoys his job of taking around the visiting brass band just a little too much, he's late in delivering them to the big concert.

Thomas Tries His Best
Thomas must be responsible and wait for Farmer McColl to deliver his chickens - but that means he may miss seeing the children at the carnival.

COME RIDE THE RAILS (Season 9)

Molly's Special Special
Molly, a new engine, doesn't feel she's very important in the yard. Until Thomas comes to the rescue.

Respect for Gordon
Gordon's rattle makes him the object of teasing by the other engines. Will he earn their respect when he demands it, instead of asking for it?

Emily Knows Best
Emily wants to impress Toby by cluing in Percy about a desired route. But she forgot about Mavis....

Saving Edward
Edward develops a steam leak. Will Sir Topham Hatt scrap him?

Rheneas & The Dinosaur
Rheneas thinks he can pull a big dinosaur skeleton all by himself - especially after Skarloey proves to be too unreliable.

Thomas and The Golden Eagle
Thomas and Percy agree to help each other out on an important assignment, but Thomas drops the ball.

The DVD:

The Video:
The full frame, 1.33:1 video image for Thomas & Friends: Steam Engine Stories looks fine, although occasional compression issues did pop up.

The Audio:
The Dolby Digital English mono soundtrack is entirely adequate for these little stories. There's a Spanish language track, as well, and English close-captions.

The Extras:
There are quite a few extras on each of the three discs in Thomas & Friends: Steam Engine Stories. In Track Stars, James' Colors of Sodor asks your child to choose the correct color that's prompted over the audio track. Thomas' A-Maze-Ing Adventure has your child pick the correct location on the Sodor map, after hints are given on the audio track. Read Along section has three stories your child can follow along, including Toby and the Flood, A Better View for Gordon, and Busy Going Backwards. Your child can either choose to read the text (with illustrations) on their own, or with a narrator. The Sodor Activity Depot is a DVD-ROM bonus that allows your child to download wallpapers, coloring pages, and a storybook starring Thomas. The Character Gallery plays a small clip of all the engines starring in the Thomas, letting your child get acquainted with the big cast. Songs and More offer up six songs, with captions, so your child can sing along to the fun songs featured in the episodes. And HiT Extras includes two song clips from Fraggle Rock and Toddworld.

From Tales From the Tracks, Arthur's Tricky Travels plays clips from the show, asking your child to answer questions about the story. Spot the Difference asks your child to pick out what's different between two pictures of the Sodor station. Getting Up Gordon's Hill plays clips from the show to see if your child can figure out which engine can get up Gordon's Hill. Songs and More offers up seven fun songs from the series for your child to sing along to. The Percy and the Oil Painting Read Along lets your child read a text story about Percy the engine, with or without a narrator. There's also a ten minute clip from Toddworld included.

In Come Ride the Rails, there's Toby's Day Out, where your child can choose where Toby goes for the day (selecting clips from various episodes). Seeing Seals is similar, with your child selecting various clips to complete the story. Sir Topham Hatt's Helping Hands asks your child to select various clips to complete another story. Percy's Favorite Things is exactly like the previous three clip-selecting games. Gordon's Gallery is a still gallery. And Songs and More offers up six songs for your child to sing along to. That's a whole lot of educational, fun extras on these three discs.

Final Thoughts:
If you're a fan of Thomas & Friends, then Thomas & Friends: Steam Engine Stories is the perfect gift for your young child. The stories are simple and engagingly executed, with those curious, charming engines chugging along on their tracks in a most attractive manner. I highly recommend Thomas & Friends: Steam Engine Stories.