A FATHER WHO LOVED TRAINS

Most children in the U.S. and their parents were introduced to THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE through the television series, "Shining Time Station", which aired from 1989 through the 1990's on PBS, FOX FAMILY and NICK JR.  What many Americans may not know is that this Britt Allcroft production (which spawned the huge collection of merchandise in toys, dvd's, and books that are so popular with kids today) was based on a hugely popular series of books written by an English clergyman between 1945 and 1972!

Wilbert Vere Awdry was not only a "Reverend", but a railroad enthusiast.  In the early 1940's, when his two-year-old son Christopher suffered a bout of the measles, Rev. Awdry began telling him stories about steam engines.  His first stories were about Henry, Edward, and Gordon, and were eventually published as The Three Railway Engines in 1945.  In the dedication of his second book of the series, Thomas the Tank Engine, Rev. Awdry wrote:

Dear Christopher,
Here is your friend Thomas, the Tank Engine.
He wanted to come out of his station-yard and see the world.
These stories tell you how he did it.
I hope you will like them because you helped me to make them.
Your Loving Daddy

By the time Rev. W. Awdry had stopped writing in 1972, his Railway Series numbered 26 books.  He was very involved in railway preservation and building model railways, which he took to exhibitions. A year before his death in 1997 he was awarded the Order of the British Empire.  He also lived to see his son Christopher continue his beloved series (books 27-40).

Our own family (back in 1985, before the t.v. series came to the States) was fortunate enough to have been sent a copy of Thomas the Tank Engine (Series No. 2) as a gift from some friends in England for our firstborn son, David - along with a set of children's dishes by Wedgewood, painted with characters from the stories - now regarded as one of our Family Treasures!  Our third child, Jonny, knew all about couplings, sidings, "silly" trucks,  and "cheeky" engines by the time he was three. (And he wouldn't go to bed each night until he'd pointed out and recited the names of all the engines and cars on his "Thomas Poster".)

I love that the original books are done in a small-format style (reminiscent of Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit books).  You can read about the series' illustrators on the Sodor Island Thomas Fan Site.  Most of THE RAILWAY SERIES books are now out of print (as is Brian Sibley's excellent biography of Rev. W. Awdry), but many can be found used on Amazon.com.   Warning: reading aloud phrases such as, "rubbish", "bother", and "don't stop dawdling, don't stop dawdling" can be addictive to U.S. born Moms and Dads! -peep, peep!
THE THREE RAILWAY ENGINES (RAILWAY SERIES NO. 1) by Rev. W. Awdry


THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE (RAILWAY SERIES NO. 2) by Rev. W. Awdry


JAMES THE RED ENGINE (RAILWAY SERIES NO. 3) by Rev. W. Awdry


THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION by Rev. W. Awdry

THE THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE MAN, by Brian Sibley.  A biography of Rev. W. Awdry, released to coincide with the 50th Anniversary of The Railway Series.

Elizabeth Hurley

Elizabeth Hurley Beautiful Hair
Elizabeth Hurley Looking so Beautiful
Elizabeth Hurley Sexy
Elizabeth Hurley on the Beach
Elizabeth Hurley on the Rain
Elizabeth Hurley Beautiful Hair
Elizabeth Hurley Soft Make Up
Elizabeth Hurley Sexy Pink Dress

Drew Barrymore

Drew Blyth Barrymore (born February 22, 1975) is an American actress, film producer and film director. She is a member of the Barrymore family of American actors and granddaughter of John Barrymore. She first appeared in an advertisement when she was eleven months old. Barrymore made her film debut in Altered States in 1980. Afterwards, she starred in her breakout role in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. She quickly became one of Hollywood's most recognized child actors, going on to establish herself in mainly comic roles.
Following a turbulent childhood which was marked by drug and alcohol abuse and two stints in rehab,
Barrymore wrote the 1990 autobiography, Little Girl Lost. She successfully made the transition from child star to adult actress with a number of films including Poison Ivy, Bad Girls, Boys on the Side, and Everyone Says I Love You. Subsequently, she established herself in romantic comedies such as The Wedding Singer and Lucky You.
In 1995, she and business partner Nancy Juvonen formed the production company Flower Films, with its first production the 1999 Barrymore film Never Been Kissed. Flower Films has gone on to produce the Barrymore vehicle films Charlie's Angels, 50 First Dates, and Music and Lyrics, as well as the cult film Donnie Darko. Barrymore's more recent projects include He's Just Not That into You, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, Everybody's Fine and Going the Distance. A recipient of a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Barrymore appeared on the cover of the 2007 People magazine's 100 Most Beautiful issue.
Barrymore was named Ambassador Against Hunger for the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). Since then, she has donated over $1 million to the program. In 2007, she became both CoverGirl's newest model and spokeswoman for the cosmetic and the face for Gucci's newest jewelry line. In 2010, she was awarded the Screen Actors Guild Award and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film for her portrayal of Little Edie in Grey Gardens.


Everybody Loves Whales is upcoming romantic drama film directed by Ken Kwapis, starring John Krasinski, Drew Barrymore, Kristen Bell, Tim Blake Nelson, Kathy Baker, Ted Danson, Vinessa Shaw, Megan Angela Smith and Stephen Root. It is set for release on January 13, 2012 in North America by Universal Pictures.A nonprofit aid worker and a government worker spark romantically as they work together in the effort to free three California gray whales who have become trapped under the ice of the Arctic Circle.






Drew Barrymore so Cute
Drew Barrymore Fashion
Drew Barrymore Amazing Jewerly
Drew Barrymore Short Hair Style
Drew Barrymore Green Necklace
Drew Barrymore Blond Hair Style
Drew Barrymore Unique Style

Denise Richards-Finding Bliss

Denise Lee Richards (born February 17, 1971) is an American actress and former fashion model. She achieved success during the late 1990s in several films, including Starship Troopers, Wild Things, and The World Is Not Enough. She appeared on the reality TV show, Denise Richards: It's Complicated, which was carried by American cable channel E!.

Throughout the early 2000s, Richards appeared in several film roles which both parodied and utilized her image as a sex symbol, including Valentine, Undercover Brother and Scary Movie 3. In December 2004, she posed for a nude pictorial in Playboy magazine, five months after giving birth. Richards also posed semi-nude for the July 2006 issue of Jane magazine to raise money for the Clothes Off Our Back Foundation. In 1999, she ranked 9th in Maxim's 50 Sexiest Women and in 2001 she was voted 2nd in FHM's USA 100 Sexiest Women, 5th in FHM's 100 Sexiest Women and 19th in AskMen.com's 50 Most Beautiful Women.

Richards appeared on the 8th season of Dancing with the Stars, paired with Maksim Chmerkovskiy. She was eliminated second on March 24, 2009. Richards sang "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the seventh-inning stretch at Wrigley Field on May 1, 2009.

In 2002, Richards married actor Charlie Sheen, with whom she appeared in Good Advice and then Scary Movie 3, in which she played his character's wife who was pinned to a tree in a car accident. They have two daughters, Sam J. Sheen (born March 9, 2004)and Lola Rose Sheen (born June 1, 2005).In March 2005, Richards filed for a divorce from Sheen.

Finding Bliss is a 2009 romantic comedy film written and directed by filmmaker Julie Davis (Amy's Orgasm). Finding Bliss explores the adult film industry through the eyes of an idealistic 24 year-old film school grad, Jody Balaban (played by Leelee Sobieski).

After a long humbling year temping as a traffic cop on a studio lot, Jody is faced with the hard decision of taking the only well-paying industry job she has yet been offered — editing porn at Grind Productions, a profitable adult film company run by former porn star Irene Fox (Kristen Johnston).

At first horrified by the prospect of exposing herself to the cockroaches of the film industry, not to mention the effect it would have on her strict Jewish parents, Jody has a remarkable change of heart when she realizes that Grind has all the facilities she needs to make her own low budget movie — on the sly of course — but things get complicated when Jody meets Jeff Drake (Matthew Davis), the charming Herr Director of adult films. Jeff, also an award-winning filmmaker, once had his own dreams of making ‘real’ films, but now is a hard-worn cynic who masks his disappointment behind a façade of irony.

n Jody, he sees the idealism he once had, while Jody starts to face her own sexual hang-ups as she begins to get aroused by the porn she so harshly judges. Jody and Jeff get close to each other, but she gets hurt when she sees him making out with one of his actresses, Sindi, who was actually taking advantage of Jeff in his drunken state. The movie made by Jody is well received by critics, and Jeff is also nominated for an AVN Award for his movie. Jody wants to set things right with him; she accepts help from Bliss, the lead actress in both Jody's and Jeff's movies, but with different identities, and pretends to be her to gain entry at an award function. On stage, when Jeff receives his award, he calls Bliss for special thanks. He realizes that Jody is in disguise as Bliss and they again get together. Jeff announces his retirement from the Adult Industry to move on.


Denise Richards Amazing Hair
Denise Richards Looking so Cute
Denise Richards Party Fashion
Denise Richards Blond Wave Hair
Denise Richards Sexy Blue Dress
Denise Richards Sexy Pose
Denise Richards Wallpaper

PUBLIC DOMAIN MONDAY: AESOP

Illustrations by Richard Heighway

Textual Collections

A State University System of Florida PALMM Project

(c) Copyright 2003, State University System of Florida.

MARCHING ALONG WITH PENGUINS

Adélie Penguins look like they're wearing tuxedo tails!

How much do you know about penguins? According to Anita Silvey's CHILDREN'S BOOK-A-DAY ALMANAC, yesterday - January 20th - was "Penguin Appreciation/Awareness Day".  I took that information to heart and tried to recall some penguin books we've enjoyed reading, and did some research in order to help you better appreciate these flightless birds (be sure to check out Anita Silvey's book recommendation, 365 Penguins, if you're interested in a fun story that also teaches math concepts).

CHAPTER AND PICTURE BOOKS:
MR. POPPER'S PENGUINS by Richard and Florence Atwater (I've show the edition with illustrations by Robert Lawson).  Mr. Popper is a house painter in the 1930s in Stillwater, USA.  He only works from the spring through fall seasons.  During the winter, he reads National Geographic and listens to radio shows about world explorers, such as Admiral Drake and his Antarctic Adventures.  The Admiral surprisingly responds to a fan letter from Mr. Popper by sending him a live penguin (who they name "Captain Cook"). The adventures start with one, but soon the Popper family grows to include 12 penguins - all of whom must be fed!  So Mr. Popper, his wife, and their two kids take the penguins on the road.  They're billed as "Popper's Performing Penguins, First Time on Any Stage, Direct from the South Pole". The act eventually gets old and they have a run-in with the law - only to be bailed out by the Admiral.  Mr. Popper is then faced with a moral dilemma about the penguins' future. The adventures while on tour are hilarious, as the penguins disrupt other acts and invade hotels.  This classic read-aloud is perfect as a bedtime "chapter-a-night" book for ages 7 and up.

LITTLE PIP...you'll love these cute picture books (for ages 4-8), illustrated by Jane Chapman, and written by talented author Karma Wilson, about a little Adélie Penguin named "Pip". These reassuring stories about Pip and her family were introduced to me by my sweet pre-school aged god-daughter, Emma:
WHERE IS HOME, LITTLE PIP?

DON'T BE AFRAID, LITTLE PIP

WHAT'S IN THE EGG, LITTLE PIP?


FILM:
Hopefully, many of you have seen MARCH OF THE PENGUINS - an incredibly enjoyable and beautifully filmed 2005 documentary, narrated by Morgan Freeman (if you haven't, try to see it soon!)  It's about a colony of hundreds of Emperor Penguins as they return, in a single-file march of 70 miles or more, to their frozen breeding ground, far inland from the cold oceans where they thrive. Most of the other creatures leave, and the Emperor Penguins, are the only animals to spend the long winters on Antarctica's open ice (unlike the Adélie Penguins, who spend their winters in the cold seas surrounding the offshore Arctic ice pack).  Click here to read more (and watch video) about both of these types of penguins on the National Geographic KIDS website.  


CRAFTS AND MORE...
Family Fun Magazine Online is a great resource for party and craft ideas.  Want to have a penguin party?  Click here to see lots of fun penguin craft ideas and recipes from FAMILY FUN.


WANT TO GO SEE PENGUINS?
These social animals are not only superb swimmers, but world-class divers - and fun to watch!
The website Nothing But Penguins has information about penguin exhibits and webcams from arount the world.  You'll find additional exhibit sites here.