Tom Atom

[wrinklymel]

I had a picture book as a child that i think was called Tom Atom. This would have been in the sixties. It was about atomic power and as I remember it had some bizarre drawings of the atomic people in it. does anyone else remember this book and can they shed any light on what the pictures looked like?

[Howard3307]

Hi Mel, I had the book in about 1962 i reckon, in melbourne Australia. I had no idea what it was about, just a weird story.
The full name was "Tom Atom and His Magic Domes". The characters were like smileys with arms & legs sticking out. They went on a big trek, climbed a mountain, then got into the domes where they played a weird game throwing lots of heavy balls at each other till the whole place got really hot & steam started to form & generate electricity to power peoples homes wasnt it wonderful. !.
I remember them getting to the foot of the mountain and climbing up on the toes. Non funny adult humour meant for kids but not really hitting the mark.
When I showed it to my year 10 maths teacher he asked if i was given a lot of things like that as a kid, i guess he figured it explained a lot about me. Probably the cause of all my problems i guess. if only i could remember who gave it to me so i could blame them!

[wrinklymel]

Howard, you are a star. I was starting to think I'd gone mad and had made it up. I had forgotten about the toes!

[Howard3307]

Hey it might only be the 2 of us that remember it.... We could probably reconstruct the whole thing if it was important.... I just thought of it because of the debate we are having here about nuclear vs coal vs renewables.

[sfjohnston]

Tom Atom and His Magic Domes was written by Chris Schirmer author/illustrator, a nuclear engineer, in 1957, who wanted to teach children from an early age about new unfamiliar technologies so they would be well prepared for them in later life.

I'd like to find a copy of the book somewhere, but so far have not had any luck.

[ezrapound1234]

I borrowed a copy of this book from a workmate in about 1975, I photocopied it back then and have been told by the workmate that he has now lost the original, However I still have a black and white copy if anyone is interested