Girls Also Love Thomas

Genevieve is a typical little girl. She loves playing dress-up, dolls, baking, painting and of course reading.  So how come I’ve been reading about coupling rods, steam engines, sheds, and the Fat Controller?  Well, simply put, she has become obsessed with Thomas the Tank Engine and his myriad of friends.  Her obsession has lead to her renaming all her scooters and bikes 'train names' and a train trip to the beach last weekend. 

Luckily a friend has lent us a box set of Thomas and Friends books – otherwise I would have needed to make an urgent purchase.The stories are short, to the point, satisfies her cravings.  We get to read all 7 in the collection at least once a day. Her favourite is ‘Arthur’s Habour Run’, a story of a shy little steam engine that has just arrived on the Island of Sodor, and has a love for the harbour and really wants the new seaside route.  

Having acknowledged her dedication to her new found interest I've added a Thomas book to her Christmas stocking called ‘Thomas and the Green Controller’.  I started to wonder if this Green Controller is in addition to the Fat Controller, and if the Fat Controller is a derogatory reference to the Controllers rather expansive waistline.  So, in case anyone else is interested, I checked on Wiki, and The Fat Controller is also known as Sir Topham Hatt, which is revealed in the foreword to the book Henry the Green Engine. So now we know!