On fitful nights, when my boys are having trouble getting to sleep, I read them this story. Thomas can't fall asleep and awakens another train, who sends him off in search of shooting star just to get some quiet. Thomas' search results in meeting several other friends but no shooting star. Finally, exhausted, Thomas returns to the train shed and falls asleep.The message is subtle enough to share without belaboring the point. The illustrations are very nice and I like both the pacing and the length of the story (as one other reviewer said, the book is the perfect length for a bedtime story).We own a number of Thomas books (check my other reviews). This is one of the better stories we've come across.