To mark the upcoming film premiere of The Dark Tower, Stephen King has written children’s book, Charlie the Choo-Choo: From the world of The Dark Tower, Beryl Evans, illustrated by Ned Dameron (S&S/Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers; 11/22/16).

Like J.K. Rowling’s publications of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them or The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Charlie the Choo-Choo is a fictional book mentioned in The Waste Lands, book three of the Dark Tower series. Entertainment Weekly says the book helps lead the character Jake in the direction of the Gunslinger.

It is written by “Beryl Evans” a character in the Dark Tower series and King uses that pseudonym on the cover of the real publication, under  a blurb in his own name: “If I were ever to write a children’s book, it would be just like this!”

It is illustrated by the real life artist Ned Dameron who created some of the art in King’s The Waste Lands, including, says EW, the cover of Charlie the Choo-Choo.

The picture book, about a sentient train who is best friends with his engineer Bob, first attracted attention during Comic-Con when it was offered as a real-life Easter egg for devoted fans, who stood in line, reports EW, in hopes of getting one of 150 copies signed by an actress playing the role of Evans.

The site Dread Central offers a full synopsis and six page spreads.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 25th, 2016 at 11:43 am and is filed under 2016 - Fall, Childrens and YA. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.