Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver
Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver (German: Jim Knopf und Lukas der Lokomotivführer) is a children's novel written by Michael Ende. The main characters are Emma the steam locomotive, her driver Luke (Lukas) and the young accomplice Jim Button (Jim Knopf) who together go on an adventure. The story begins and ends on the small fictional island of Morrowland (Lummerland).
| Author | Michael Ende |
|---|---|
| Original title | Jim Knopf und Lukas der Lokomotivführer |
| Illustrator | Franz Josef Tripp |
| Country | Germany |
| Language | German |
| Series | Jim Button |
| Genre | Fantasy |
| Publisher | Thienemann, Stuttgart |
Publication date | 1960 |
Published in English | 1963 |
| Followed by | Jim Button and the Wild 13 |
The book was published in 1960, and received the German Young Literature Prize in 1961. It is one of the most successful German language children's books of the postwar era. The success led to thirty-four translations into other languages and the sequel Jim Button and the Wild 13 (Jim Knopf und die Wilde 13).
Ende did not see his book as a children's book, but just wrote it for himself. Initially, over a dozen publishers had rejected the book prior to publication.