The Little Engine That Could mini [Hardcover]

Watty Piper (Author), George Hauman (Author), Doris Hauman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 30, 1990 | Series: Little Engine That Could

"A good example of pioneer feminist lore, with girl engine as 'hero'".--Publishers Weekly. The classic story of optimistic thinking that has delighted generations of children. Full-color illustrations.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap; Min edition (August 30, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0448400715
• ISBN-13: 978-0448400716
• Product Dimensions: 4.3 x 4.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (101 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,244 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #13 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Teens > Literature & Fiction > Classics
  • #16 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Science, Nature & How It Works > Transportation
  • #24 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Sports & Activities > Activities & Toys

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for Children, Fantastic for Adults, January 24, 2007

By 

Alouette1 "alouette1" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Little Engine That Could (Original Classic Edition) (Hardcover)

My dad was dying and I bought several books to take to him at the hospital. This was one of them. When I flew down to see him, the word was that he still had hope. Within thirty minutes of my arrival, we found it not to be true. I still read him this book, just as he used to read it to me. It was a joke for us during his last days. Even when he had break through pain and I wasn't allowed to give him more medicine, we'd read this and he'd squeeze my hand while he tried to get through just a little more time. Sometimes he told me the story to keep his mind focussed.

Before he died he told me to finish my degree. I told him it would be hard because I have a big family, so much going on-- and he smiled and said, "Let me tell you about a train that couldn't get over a mountain. It had great things on it, toys for the good boys and girls, milk for their dinners. It was hard to get this train loaded with good things over the mountain but there was one little engine. . ." Three months later I am in college and this little engine goes through my mind a lot. The story is one of my children's favorites and they don't know why I can't read it without crying!

This book appeals to everyone for different reasons, but the results are the same. An iron will allows us to overcome any obstacle!

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Breaks the language barrier, July 23, 2001

By 

Alyssa A. Lappen (Earth) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Little Engine That Could (Original Classic Edition) (Hardcover)

Few books are so gratifying to read to children for the first time. A child does not even need to understand English to "get" it. On first meeting our four-year-old son, who had never heard a world of English until then, I put him on my knee and impersonated each engine character chugging through these pages.

He was scared and shy, but he loved the "characters," which I could only differentiate for him by sound, and he especially loved the famous repeating line "I think I can."

As my whispers rose to crescendo, he squealed in delight. Nowadays he reads much harder books before going to sleep at night. But he likes every now and then to come back to this one: He well remembers the first moments of bonding with me, and with this book.

--- Alyssa A. Lappen

62 of 73 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Which Engine Do You Remember?, March 20, 2003

By 

Craig Rucin (Oak Lawn, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Little Engine That Could (Original Classic Edition) (Hardcover)

I wanted to buy this book for my children because it was my favorite as a kid. However, when I read the book I was surprised because it wasn't what I remembered. After doing research on this, I discovered there was another version of this story, "The Pony Engine" by Wonder Books, which I purchased used. This was the version I grew up with. What's the difference? The "Watty Piper" version makes the good engines girls and the bad engines boys and the version I grew up with does not make any [gender] distinction for the engines. If you are looking for the same book you grew up with, you may want to consider which version you want to read to your kids. Which is the true version? That is debated and you can read about it...