Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver
core novel 1960 Jim Button
Record
| Original title | Jim Knopf und Lukas der Lokomotivführer |
|---|---|
| First published | 1960 |
| Original language |  DE |
| First English translation | 1963 |
| Translator | Anthea Bell |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.26 (9,601 ratings, collected 2026-09-24) |
| Page count | 226 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780879513917 |
| Internal chronology | 1 |
Synopsis
The tiny island kingdom of Morrowland has room for only a king, two subjects, and Luke the engine driver with his beloved locomotive Emma, until a mysterious parcel arrives by ship and turns out to contain a baby boy, who is raised on the island as Jim Button. Years later the king decides the island is too small for everyone, and that Emma must go. Rather than part with her, Luke decides to leave, and Jim goes with him; they turn Emma into a makeshift boat and sail away together by night. They come ashore in Mandala, where the grieving emperor tells them his daughter, Princess Li Si, has been kidnapped and taken to the Dragon City in Sorrowland. Investigating, the friends turn up names that also seem tied to the mystery of how Jim first arrived on Morrowland.
Where it sits
- Universe: Jim Button
- Series: Jim Button core; position 1 of 2 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Michael Ende
Awards (verified)
- German Youth Literature Prize (Children's Book), 1961: won
Notes
- From the series record (Jim Button): An orphan boy raised on the tiny island of Lummerland by locomotive engineer Luke sets off aboard Luke's seafaring steam engine on adventures that eventually uncover Jim's own royal origins.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings, but they resolve to the exact same sequence for this book, so one combined line is shown instead of two identical ones.
- Reading order, within the series Jim Button: position 1 of 2: next Jim Button and the Wild 13 (1962)
Sources
← Jim Button dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.