Clive Spong

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Clive Spong is an English illustrator of The Railway Series of children's books by the Revd. W. Awdry and his son Christopher. He illustrated the books by Christopher Awdry published since 1983.

Books:

  • Really Useful Engines
  • James and the Diesel Engines
  • Great Little Engines
  • More About Thomas the Tank Engine
  • Gordon the High-Speed Engine
  • Toby, Trucks and Trouble
  • Thomas and the Twins
  • Jock the New Engine
  • Thomas and the Great Railway Show
  • Thomas Comes Home
  • Henry and the Express
  • Wilbert the Forest Engine
  • Thomas and the Fat Controller's Engines
  • New Little Engine
  • Thomas and Victoria

[edit] History

Spong is a graduate of Leicester College of Art, like John T. Kenney and Clarence Reginald Dalby. He remained the illustrator throughout the run of Christopher Awdry's 14 books, three more than Peter Edwards.

Clive was one of the first illustrators to break Wilbert's golden rule about engines having no faces outside of Sodor - he did this in book 32, "Toby, Trucks and Trouble" - depicting Toby and his brother with faces whilst outside Sodor, in book 35, "Thomas and the Great Railway Show" - depicting National Collection engines such as Mallard, Duchess of Hamilton, Green Arrow and Iron Duke (complete with big whiskers) with faces, and in book 38, "Wilbert the Forest Engine" - depicting Sixteen with a face on his railway outside of Sodor.

[edit] Railway Series spinoffs

Spong illustrated pop-up books and the spin-offs, Thomas's Christmas Party, Thomas and the Evil Diesel, Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree, Thomas and the Hurricane and also Christopher Awdry's extended rewrite of Thomas Comes to Breakfast. Some of his character illustrations were used to depict characters in The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways