Customer Reviews

The Little Engine That Could

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is the first time that the 'Little Engine' has been published as a deluxe picture book. For this reason alone, it is unfair to compare it to the previous editions. The older editions are illustrated with small, simple, colored line drawings rather than lavish, full-page, full-color paintings.

Long's illustrations are beautiful and, in my opinion, suit the story better than the old ones did. As I child, I was never quite sure if the clown and dolls were toys or people. Long's illustration makes them obviously toys.

Long's illustrations give the different locomotives distinct looks and personalities. The original illustrations for both previous editions of the book have locomotives that are virtually identical, except for being different colors. The passenger engine in Long's illustration is a sleek, streamlined design with an arrogant, sneering expression, while the freight engine is a massive, dark iron, whale-like machine that looms over and peers down at the tiny clown.

It's unfortunate that the review from the School Library Journal was chosen by Amazon for the Editorial Reviews, above. I'd like to correct some errors - the writer has her facts wrong about the history of this book.

What Burg believes to be the original edition of the book is, in fact, the 1954 edition with illustrations by George and Doris Hauman. Although Burg praises the '1930s' look of these illustrations with the green poka-dotted clown, they scream '1950s!'. While most people today are familiar with this version, I think the older illustrations are showing their age, and I believe children today will relate better to Long's paintings. Also, as I have stated above, I believe Long's illustrations help tell the story better.

The actual 1930s illustrations were colored line drawings by Lois Lenski, and few people today will have seen them. Interestingly, those illustrations show the story taking place in a stark, snow-covered winter landscape.

Burg claims Loren Long's paintings have a '1950s' look. Anyone familiar with painting styles of the 1930s will recognize the influence of painters like Grant Wood on Long's style. Long's illustrations are much truer to the 1930s than the 1954 illustrations are.

I am a friend of Loren Long's, and I know how hard he worked on these illustrations and how much this book meant to him. These paintings were a labor of love.

I loved this book as a child and I still remember my mother reading it to me vividly to this day. She has since passed away, however, the underlying message of the book about having confidence in oneself stuck. I think this theme of "knowing you can do it" is a value message for children to learn.

I read through the story of the book and it had even more impact with the updated art. The images are original, powerful and really bring the story to life. I can see why they would appeal to children and the use of colors is amazing.

I've read a few reviewers comments that the book is sexist. I didn't notice that the "bad trains" were a certain gender and the "good trains" another when I read it. However, I'm wondering if this just may be a coincidence. I have a hard time believing the author of a classic like this with such a good underlying positive message would do something like this on purpose. Ditto... for the editors who are watching out for problems like this. While I could be wrong, I think Watty Piper deserves the benefit of the doubt and perhaps she will be open to making some editorial changes to correct an apparent sexist slant in future editions.

I also found the large format and prints in this book a value add. It is also printed on nice paper and lends itself to being used over and over. This format also makes it good for reading to small groups where the children will need to see the pictures from a distance.

The toys seemed to be almost alive to me. The artwork was succesful in giving them some kind of personality. They seem more than just stuffed animals and I think this quality will appeal and endear them to children.

The art is so captivating that it almost distracts me from the story. I have to admit I haven't read the classic version in a long time, but it seems to me there was more repetition of the core message in that version. If my memory is faulty, I think it would be an improvement to repeat the "I think I can.... I know I can...." theme more often.

Overall, I don't think you can go wrong purchasing this classic book. It's a great read and a visual delight.

The original version of this book was one of my all time favorites as a child, per my mom. I purchased this one as a gift for a special little guy I know. When I received it I thought that the new illustrations were absolutely fabulous, brilliant colorations! It was something I almost wanted to keep it was so beautiful! When this young fella opened presents, all of the adults ranging in age of 25-37 were enthralled with the book. In fact the little guy had to ask for his book back from us! I highly recommend this book to anyone who loved and cherished the original, would like a special book with a wonderful message (that's not too long for bedtime), or a beautiful book for a collection. I might even order it for myself one of these days it was that spectacular! Hope this helps you decide to purchase this book...

As a children's librarian, I was thrilled to receive this new and updated version of a classic tale. The pictures are beautiful and well-suited to the larger size of this edition. As for the book being sexist...it never occured to me to place the engines in gender categories. The children love this story and beg for it to be read over and over. That is the true test of a classic and this edition is long overdue.

Santa brought this book to go with a train table for my 3-year old this Christmas. He made us stop to read it to him TWICE while we were opening presents. On the day after Christmas, he was chanting "I think I can...I thought I could..." all over the house. He just loves the illustrations because they show the differing personalities of the various trains so vividly.

I have to say that this is one of my three year old's favorite books, but the text seems a little clunky at times. I always change the line "...dolls with brown eyes and brown bobbed heads..." to read "brown bobbed hair" so that it is understandable. I also noticed in the copy we have that the text does not compliment the pictures that are on the page. The lines often run to the next page at awkward moments as if the printer only allowed a certain number of lines on a page and did not check for orphaned words. After many readings I memorized the book and could keep the flow, but that first reading was hard to get the complete story.
Overall, this book is loved by my boys, but as the reader, it has some idiosyncrasies.

Everyone knows The Little Engine That Could, but many don't know that the author is actually unknown. "Watty Piper" was a publisher's pen name, and the story predated him anyway.

This new (2005) edition is notable for its new artwork by Loren Long, an illustrator of increasing acclaim. (He illustrated Barack Obama's even more recent Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters.) This hardcover is HUGE (just over 12 inches by just under 10 inches), and Long's textured acrylic artwork, often in two-page spreads, is the focal point here.

The message--Think Positively--is as vital for children now as it was when Platt & Munk published it in 1930. (Watty Piper was in reality Arnold Munk.) As to the question of the trains' gender, it doesn't matter to me. More importantly, it doesn't matter to my kids. Read this classic to your children, and hope that one day, they read it to THEIR children.

What is there not to like about this classic masterpiece? My kids love it and the message is positive. More children's books need to teach lessons in self-esteem. It is an important building block that should be added to a child's foundation at an early age.

My grandson, 3 yrs old, is a big fan of Thomas the Tank. This classic tale has become a favorite already, I think because it does have colorful drawings of the story and, it is about trains. He thinks twice now about saying " I can't". If he does, Grandma quietly repeats " I think I can, I think I can...". He will grin and forge ahead with the task or skill he was attempting.
It is often one of his picks for a bedtime story. Train-loving child or not, the message is timeless.

Can't wait to read this wonderful book to my granddaughter, when she's a bit older as I did with her mom, my daughter..