The Little Engine that Could by Watty Piper

The Little Engine that Could by Watty Piper, illustrated by Loren Long

Rating: 5 wonderful, classic stars

If I could choose one book that every child would receive on their first birthday, this would be it.  It is such a classic--who doesn't know about this?  maybe just the girl in my English lit class in college who had never heard of Star Wars--and it is the most deserving of all the esteemed classics out there.  Every grandparent should make sure their grandchild has this book on his or her shelf.

Just think if every child grew up thinking of the little blue engine chug chug chugging merrily along, stopping to help the little broken down train despite her small size, believing in herself as she pulled them up up up the big mountain, boosting her confidence by saying again and again I think I can I think I can I think I can...  Wouldn't this world be filled with kinder, more confident little beings?  Maybe they'd even grow to be kind, confident adults, too.  It's worth a try.

We started reading this book when Lorelei started a little Mommy and me gymnastics class.  She was pretty nervous about jumping off of things and hanging by her arms like a monkey and climbing up ladders.  We read this and began chanting I think I can I think I can I think I can at those moments when she needed a little bit more courage.  There's no way to tell if this book and this line were the sole cure for her lack-of-boldness problem, but...it definitely helped.

I know this book by heart now--I hope most parents do--and I am a little bummed that we bought an older version of the book.  We have the book illustrated by George Hauman; he does a good job, but the words and the illustrations annoying don't match up.  It's as if there's a time delay...in the picture one engine is chugging off back to the roundhouse but the text says that the funny little toy clown is just greeting him.  Hardly the end of the world, but the book with illustrations by Loren Long is gorgeous and definitely the one to buy.  Look at this picture of all the toy animals feeling sad after being disappointed by the third engine--can't you just feel the disappointment?! 

And, speaking of his or her, the most curious thing about this book to me is the fact that both the little engine that breaks down and the heroic little blue engine are both female, and the three unhelpful engines are male.  A little Google research and come to find out that--shockingly--I am far from the first to have this thought.  Some versions of the book don't attribute any gender to any of the trains, thereby making problem moot.  The versions with the gender difference are hailed by many female critics for applauding the "female pioneer" and maintaining a positive myth of women helping women, though the guys definitely get the short end of the stick--they are "too busy with important, male work" to help.

I don't think Lorelei and Ben are quite ready for literary analysis.  We love the Little Engine that Could because it is fun to read aloud as I have a different voice for each engine and the toy clown, too, and there's nothing better than cheering on a kind underdog that wins in the end!