If your toddler hasn’t gone through their train-obsessed stage yet, don’t worry – they will. There’s something about trains that seems to excite every little one at some point in their life, and the Thomas and Friends books are the perfect way to keep your kiddo entertained while they’re in this phase. We’ve rounded up six of our favorites: Some teach a valuable lesson, some are silly, some even have cardboard pop-ups … and all of them have amazing ratings on Amazon and are super affordable.

Does your toddler have a favorite train book that we haven’t mentioned? Let us know in the comments!

Thomas Breaks a Promise 

In this story, Thomas has promised Sir Topham Hatt that he’ll carefully check all the signals at a new branch line – but when he gets distracted and forgets, a friend almost gets hurt. Thomas is faced with the dilemma of owning up to his mistake and broken promise, and is a great lesson for teaching toddlers that when mistakes happen and promises are broken, it’s important to admit to it and accept the consequences.

Thomas Looks Up 

This is a cardboard pop-up book that little ones love, even if they can’t read yet. The story involves the reader, and the pop-ups are designed so that they can’t be easily ripped out by your toddler. If your kiddo loves airplanes and helicopters, this book will keep their attention!

Go, Train, Go! 

Thomas is taking the judge to the train show, but everything from cows to logs to tunnels keep slowing him down – will he finally get to go fast and bring the judge to the show in time? Toddlers will love getting to shout “Go, Train, Go!” as they read along, and the cardboard pages are sturdy enough to withstand tons of readings with little fingers.

Fast Train, Slow Train 

This is the Thomas & Friends equivalent of the tortoise and the hare, and has the same cute message and story-line, with extra emphasis being placed on the importance of being helpful and kind. Each line of the story rhymes, and the overarching message of helping others as being more important than winning is a great lesson to begin teaching at this age!

Stop, Train, Stop! 

The cousin to Go, Train, Go!, this book tells the story of Thomas bypassing all of his usual stops, wreaking havoc everywhere he goes! People get bumped up and down, luggage gets mixed up, and people can’t get to sleep on board. It’s the perfect story to read side-by-side with Go, Train, Go!, and teaches a lesson about doing things the right way instead of rushing through.

Thomas and the Big, Big Bridge

When a new bridge opens up, a lot of Thomas’ friends are scared of how high it is. Will Thomas be able to help them, or will he be too afraid to cross the Big, Big Bridge? This is a great story for teaching little ones that while there are things that will scare them, they can also overcome their fears.

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Do you have any book recommendations? Let us know in the comments – we would love to hear them!