Virgin Trains today launches its first-of-a-kind children’s story, The Girl Who Had Never Been On a Train, written by comedian and award-winning children’s author, David Baddiel, in his role as Virgin Trains’ ‘Summer Author’. The exclusive story has been brought to life with drawings from by award-winning illustrator Jim Field.
The comedian travelled on Virgin Trains over the summer months across the UK to create the children’s fiction. His tale was inspired by his observations of the passengers and staff who travel on Virgin Trains. By spending time on the trains and interacting with passengers, David also unearthed people’s summer memories, which inspired his story.
This unique story will delight fans of his two previous, highly-acclaimed children’sbooks, The Parent Agency and The Person Controller. The Girl Who Had Never Been on a Train is being unveiled as the first exclusive commission for BEAM, Virgin Trains’ free on-board content platform.
The Girl Who Had Never Been On a Train tells the tale of eleven year-old Chrissie who loves trains but Chrissie has yet to travel on an actual one. When Chrissie finally gets on a train, with her Grandpa Henry, to go to London for an important operation, her trip from Scotland to London turns out to be quite literally magical – and is going to change Chrissie’s life forever…
Commenting on his latest release, David Baddiel said, “I’ve always loved trains. They may be my favourite form of transport. I also think trains are inspirational for the imagination, especially on a long journey like London to Edinburgh. In a way, I’d like a private train to stay on every day, as I think I write better on them than at home. Anyway, I hope my readers like this new story, about a disabled girl called Chrissie who also loves trains, but has never actually been on one: till now. As is usual in my stories, something a bit weird and magical happens early on in the journey, and Chrissie gets taken somewhere she really didn’t expect to go - although it all takes place on the train. Rather like the writing of it…”
