Here are 75 books that Thomas the Tank Engine's Hidden Surprises fans have personally recommended if you like Thomas the Tank Engine's Hidden Surprises. Book DNA is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of How Full Is Your Bucket? For Kids

Jack Payton Author Of Billy Balloon

From my list on children’s stories you wish you had written.

Why am I passionate about this?

I wrote Billy Balloon in fourth grade for a writing exercise. I remember the teacher reading it to the whole class. I was filled with pride. Then through the years I’d revisit the story and think about getting it published. Many years later, with the support and encouragement from my family, I finally decided to go through with it. We then went from wanting to publish one book to building a brand similar to Curious George and Thomas the Train. We had such a great experience and fun time we also decided to share the adventure with others. We invite readers to submit ideas for other books in the Billy Balloon series through our website

Jack's book list on children’s stories you wish you had written

Jack Payton Why Jack loves this book

A co-worker had introduced me to this book when I mentioned my daughter was having trouble in school.

It’s a wonderful book that made a lasting impression. I would reference the book whenever she would get down or needed extra motivation.

My daughter even wrote about the lessons she learned from How Full Is Your Bucket in her college entrance essay.

By Mary Reckmeyer , Tom Rath , Maurie J. Manning (illustrator)

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked How Full Is Your Bucket? For Kids as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Every moment matters.
Each of us has an invisible bucket. When our bucket is full, we feel great. When it's empty, we feel awful. Yet most children (and many adults) don't realize the importance of having a full bucket throughout the day.
In How Full Is Your Bucket? For Kids, Felix begins to see how every interaction in a day either fills or empties his bucket. Felix then realizes that everything he says or does to other people fills or empties their buckets as well.
Follow along with Felix as he learns how easy it can be to fill the…


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Book cover of Look! Look!

Look! Look! by Uma Krishnaswami,

When a girl in India discovers a Stone slab on a weedy patch of land she calls to her friends, "Look! Look!" The children clear away the weeds and garbage and find more stones. They called their families to come and see. Word travels to villages nearby and more and…

Book cover of Daddy Kisses

Jack Payton Author Of Billy Balloon

From my list on children’s stories you wish you had written.

Why am I passionate about this?

I wrote Billy Balloon in fourth grade for a writing exercise. I remember the teacher reading it to the whole class. I was filled with pride. Then through the years I’d revisit the story and think about getting it published. Many years later, with the support and encouragement from my family, I finally decided to go through with it. We then went from wanting to publish one book to building a brand similar to Curious George and Thomas the Train. We had such a great experience and fun time we also decided to share the adventure with others. We invite readers to submit ideas for other books in the Billy Balloon series through our website

Jack's book list on children’s stories you wish you had written

Jack Payton Why Jack loves this book

The baby store where I bought this book closed long ago, but I still remember the day.

My wife was halfway through her pregnancy and we were getting the room ready. The title caught my attention and I picked it up and started to read it. I got teary-eyed.

I imagined reading it and giving my daddy kisses to our soon-to-be baby. For both of my kids, this became a special and exclusive book that only I read to them while giving daddy kisses. 

By Anne Gutman , Georg Hallensleben ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Daddy Kisses as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

What could be sweeter than adorable baby animals snuggling with their daddies? This simple board book with warm illustrations feature a variety of animals and celebrate the affection between fathers and children. Cuddles and kisses will surely abound when reading this aloud!


Book cover of Curious George

Jack Payton Author Of Billy Balloon

From my list on children’s stories you wish you had written.

Why am I passionate about this?

I wrote Billy Balloon in fourth grade for a writing exercise. I remember the teacher reading it to the whole class. I was filled with pride. Then through the years I’d revisit the story and think about getting it published. Many years later, with the support and encouragement from my family, I finally decided to go through with it. We then went from wanting to publish one book to building a brand similar to Curious George and Thomas the Train. We had such a great experience and fun time we also decided to share the adventure with others. We invite readers to submit ideas for other books in the Billy Balloon series through our website

Jack's book list on children’s stories you wish you had written

Jack Payton Why Jack loves this book

The fun thing about George was reading all the different books with my kids, and discovering what he was up to next.

He is curious about everything around him, and isn’t always able to express himself. Very much like little kids. George’s childlike innocence and sense of adventure is contagious.

I was also in awe of the author's productivity. There were so many different stories! It was an inspiration to my book series, to invite readers to help co-author additional books.

By H. A. Rey ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Curious George as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

Curious little ones will love to cuddle up at bedtime with this padded story collection with sturdy pages. The perfect ending to a long day of play!

Includes six stories:
Curious George: Are You Curious
Curious George and the Firefighters
Curious George's Day at the Farm
Curious George Goes to a Bookstore
Curious George Loves to Ride
Good Night, Curious George


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Book cover of Look! Look!

Look! Look! by Uma Krishnaswami,

When a girl in India discovers a Stone slab on a weedy patch of land she calls to her friends, "Look! Look!" The children clear away the weeds and garbage and find more stones. They called their families to come and see. Word travels to villages nearby and more and…

Book cover of Nova the Robot Builds a Friend

Jack Payton Author Of Billy Balloon

From my list on children’s stories you wish you had written.

Why am I passionate about this?

I wrote Billy Balloon in fourth grade for a writing exercise. I remember the teacher reading it to the whole class. I was filled with pride. Then through the years I’d revisit the story and think about getting it published. Many years later, with the support and encouragement from my family, I finally decided to go through with it. We then went from wanting to publish one book to building a brand similar to Curious George and Thomas the Train. We had such a great experience and fun time we also decided to share the adventure with others. We invite readers to submit ideas for other books in the Billy Balloon series through our website

Jack's book list on children’s stories you wish you had written

Jack Payton Why Jack loves this book

This one is part of a small group of books I’m going to keep and one day read to my grandchildren.

I hope printed books will still be around. This board book holds a special place. My kids learned names of colors and shapes with this book.

This is the book I remember sitting my kids on my lap, watching them turn pages with their chubby little hands, while I read to them.

By David Kirk ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Nova the Robot Builds a Friend as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 2, 3, 4, and 5.

What is this book about?

Youngsters can learn their colors and shapes as they help Nova the Robot build himself a friend, in a robot-shaped board book which features the author's popular eight-year-old robot boy, Nova.


Book cover of The Great Railway Bazaar

Matthew Stevenson Author Of Reading the Rails

From my list on getting inspired to ride a train.

Why am I passionate about this?

I'm an American writer who lives in Switzerland, in the vineyards outside Geneva, but I grew up in the 1960s riding night trains around the United States in the company of my father, who loved trains and rode them for his work. From the soaring columns of New York’s Pennsylvania Station, we took trains to Chicago, Wyoming, Denver, Albuquerque, New Orleans, and beyond. In my adult writing life, I've taken trains across Russia, China, India, Australia, the Middle East, Japan, and just about every corner of Europe. Once, I rode all the trains in East Africa between Nairobi and Johannesburg, during which excursion the Tazara Express was three days late into Kapiri Mposhi, Tanzania.

Matthew's book list on getting inspired to ride a train

Matthew Stevenson Why Matthew loves this book

In the early 1970s, the prolific Paul Theroux decided to ride as many trains as he could find between London and Japan, and to come back on the Trans-Siberian from Vladivostok. There are a few gaps in his rail line (Afghanistan isn’t well served by trains but he does manage to catch a Kyber Pass local), but otherwise he stitches together an itinerary that takes him across the Balkans, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, India, Southeast Asia, and finally Japan. He chats up everyone he meets, and the book is a cross between a compelling account of numerous train journeys and novelistic dialogue with his fellow travelers (including poor Mr. Duffill who in Venice gets off and misses the train he and Theroux were on). Theroux can be cynical, but it is cynicism born of honesty, and it’s impossible to read this book and not want to ride night trains across India…

By Paul Theroux ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Great Railway Bazaar as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Fired by a fascination with trains that stemmed from childhood, Paul Theroux set out one day with the intention of boarding every train that chugged into view from Victoria Station in London to Tokyo Central, and to come back again via the Trans-Siberian Express. This is his story.


Book cover of All Aboard With E.M. Frimbo: World's Greatest Railroad Buff

Matthew Stevenson Author Of Reading the Rails

From my list on getting inspired to ride a train.

Why am I passionate about this?

I'm an American writer who lives in Switzerland, in the vineyards outside Geneva, but I grew up in the 1960s riding night trains around the United States in the company of my father, who loved trains and rode them for his work. From the soaring columns of New York’s Pennsylvania Station, we took trains to Chicago, Wyoming, Denver, Albuquerque, New Orleans, and beyond. In my adult writing life, I've taken trains across Russia, China, India, Australia, the Middle East, Japan, and just about every corner of Europe. Once, I rode all the trains in East Africa between Nairobi and Johannesburg, during which excursion the Tazara Express was three days late into Kapiri Mposhi, Tanzania.

Matthew's book list on getting inspired to ride a train

Matthew Stevenson Why Matthew loves this book

Sadly, much of Mr. Frimbo’s train world no longer exists, at least in the United States, but this book—a collection of delightful essays from train journeys—is a fitting legacy to a departed rail network. Whitaker was a copyeditor at The New Yorker. Later he traveled with Tony Hiss, also at The New Yorker, and the two have preserved in print the quirkiness and greatness of what were America’s passenger trains, from the Twentieth Century Limited to long-forgotten branch lines.

By Rogers E. M. Whitaker , Tony Hiss , Mark Livingston (illustrator)

Why should I read it?

1 author picked All Aboard With E.M. Frimbo as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

International in scope, this series of non-fiction trade paperbacks offers books that explore the lives, customs and thoughts of peoples and cultures around the world.


Book cover of Building the Railways of the Raj, 1850-1900

Rajendra B. Aklekar Author Of India’s Railway Man: A Biography of E. Sreedharan

From my list on railways and trains.

Why am I passionate about this?

Rajendra B. Aklekar (born 1974) is an Indian journalist with over 25 years of experience and author of best-selling books on India’s railway history and heritage. He is also the biographer of India’s legendary railway engineer Dr. E Sreedharan. With museology from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharasj Vastu Sangrahalaya (formerly the Prince of Wales Museum, Mumbai, Aklekar is also a Google-certified Digital Marketer. Aklekar, associated with the Indian Railway Fans’ Club Association, Indian Steam Railway Society, Rail Enthusiasts Society, has contributed significantly while setting up the Rail Heritage Gallery at the UNESCO-listed Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus station, formerly Victoria Terminus building, Bombay, and documentation of heritage relics of India’s first railway.

Rajendra's book list on railways and trains

Rajendra B. Aklekar Why Rajendra loves this book

This is a key book on the mountain railways of India. While all other history books look at the overall context of Indian Railways, this one, in particular, focuses on the “Ghat sections” of Indian Railways that were built as early as the 1860s with primitive technology, labour and sheer hard work. I personally recommend this work because it explores a not-so-popular yet very important part of the construction of the first railway lines in India. The book has minute details of the labour numbers, the various communities involved, and how work went ahead in the difficult most terrain and tropical weather. I am also proud to be associated with late Kerr during his research visits to India and assist him in his work.

By Ian J. Kerr ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Building the Railways of the Raj, 1850-1900 as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

25,000 miles of rail were constructed in India from 1850 to 1900, involving a considerable investment of British capital, railway technology, engineers, skilled workmen and millions of Indian labourers. This is a detailed history of the development of the Indian railroad.


Book cover of Indian Railways: The Weaving of a National Tapestry

Rajendra B. Aklekar Author Of India’s Railway Man: A Biography of E. Sreedharan

From my list on railways and trains.

Why am I passionate about this?

Rajendra B. Aklekar (born 1974) is an Indian journalist with over 25 years of experience and author of best-selling books on India’s railway history and heritage. He is also the biographer of India’s legendary railway engineer Dr. E Sreedharan. With museology from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharasj Vastu Sangrahalaya (formerly the Prince of Wales Museum, Mumbai, Aklekar is also a Google-certified Digital Marketer. Aklekar, associated with the Indian Railway Fans’ Club Association, Indian Steam Railway Society, Rail Enthusiasts Society, has contributed significantly while setting up the Rail Heritage Gallery at the UNESCO-listed Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus station, formerly Victoria Terminus building, Bombay, and documentation of heritage relics of India’s first railway.

Rajendra's book list on railways and trains

Rajendra B. Aklekar Why Rajendra loves this book

This is another book on the same subject written by an eminent historian and economist. I am recommending this book because of the clear and categorical historical decade-wise demarcations since the inception of railways in India since the 1830s. The 20th century is summarised in one entire chapter, bringing a contemporary context. One of the best parts of the book is a timeline of the government policies and committees on Indian Railways in a tabular form that gives a quick summary of how the organization progressed in its different forms, including the seamless transfer from old colonial railways to national railways adding the current reforms and policies. Another key feature of the book is that it gives a timeline of the various railway companies and railway lines spread across India.

I am also proud to mention that the book liberally quotes my first book when it mentions India’s railway…

By Bibek Debroy , Sanjay Chadha , Vidya Krishnamurthi

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Indian Railways as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The fascinating story of the network that made modern India The railways brought modernity to India. Its vast network connected the far corners of the subcontinent, making travel, communication and commerce simpler than ever before. Even more importantly, the railways played a large part in the making of the nation: by connecting historically and geographically disparate regions and people, it forever changed the way Indians lived and thought, and eventually made a national identity possible. This engagingly written, anecdotally told history captures the immense power of a business behemoth as well as the romance of train travel; tracing the growth…


Book cover of Metropolitan Corridor: Railroads and the American Scene

Patrick N. Allitt Author Of A Climate of Crisis: America in the Age of Environmentalism

From my list on understanding American environmental history.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a history professor at Emory University. I was born and raised in England and feel equally at home in Britain and America. I’ve written six books on religious, political, and environmental history and one on my life as a college professor. I’ve also made eleven recorded lecture series with The Great Courses, on a wide variety of topics, including a series on the History of the Industrial Revolution and a series titled The Great Tours: England, Scotland, and Wales.

Patrick's book list on understanding American environmental history

Patrick N. Allitt Why Patrick loves this book

Railroads usually show up in American history books when they’re just getting started (1830), linking up the two coasts (1869), or going into catastrophic decline in competition with cars, trucks, and aircraft (the 1960s). Stilgoe, a professor of environmental design at Harvard, is much more interested in their long dominance from the 1860s to the 1950s and how they facilitated the development of American cities, the siting of power stations, the development of suburbs, and the rise of industrial parks. Nothing’s too humble and grimy to escape his notice. In one bravura passage, he even explains the truth behind the “Valley of Ashes” in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.

By John R. Stilgoe ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Metropolitan Corridor as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Pathbreaking examination of the impact of railroads on American culture and the built environment. Prof. Stilgoe focuses on how the railroads created metropolitan corridors that not only shaped the landscape but also American attitudes towards industrial might, exploration of the countryside and Nature, and the possibility of an ordered and beautiful future. Illustrated throughout with black and white photos as well as drawings. With extensive notes. 397 pages with index.


Book cover of Railways & the Raj: How the Age of Steam Transformed India

Sathnam Sanghera Author Of Empireland: How Imperialism Has Shaped Modern Britain

From my list on the British Empire's impact on the world.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was in my 40s before I began exploring the topic of the British Empire. It came after I realised it explained so much about me (my Sikh identity, the emigration of my parents, my education) and so much about my country (its politics, psychology, wealth…) and yet I knew very little. It turned out that millions of people feel the same way… and I hope I provide an accessible introduction and summary of the massive topic. 

Sathnam's book list on the British Empire's impact on the world

Sathnam Sanghera Why Sathnam loves this book

Approaching the subject not as an imperial historian but as a specialist on transport, Wolmar dismantles the lie at the heart of a thousand TV documentaries: that the British bestowed railways on India in an act of benevolence.

Every TV commissioner in Britain should be made to read this.

By Christian Wolmar ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Railways & the Raj as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

India was the jewel in the crown of the British Empire, an Empire that needed a rail network to facilitate its exploitation and reflect its ambition. But, by building India's railways, Britain radically changed the nation and unwittingly planted the seed of independence. As Indians were made to travel in poor conditions and were barred from the better paid railway jobs a stirring of resentment and nationalist sentiment grew.

The Indian Railways network remains one of the largest in the world, serving over 25 million passengers each day. In this expertly told history, Christian Wolmar reveals the full story, from…


Book cover of How Full Is Your Bucket? For Kids
Book cover of Daddy Kisses
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