The Little Engine That Could [Hardcover]

Watty Piper (Author), Loren Long (Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: September 27, 2005 | Age Range: 2 - 8 years

Everyone loves The Little Engine That Could, that classic tale of the determined little engine that, despite its size, triumphantly pulls a train full of toys to the waiting children on the other side of a mountain.

Now the great Loren Long (Mr. Peabody’s Apples) has brilliantly re-illustrated this classic story, bringing it exuberantly to life for today’s child. Get on board for the publishing event of the year.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The unknowing progenitor of a whole generation of self-help books, Wally Piper's The Little Engine That Could is one of the greatest tales of motivation and the power of positive thinking ever told. In this well-loved classic, a little train carrying oodles of toys to all of the good boys and girls is confronted with a towering, seemingly impassable mountain. As nicely as they ask, the toys cannot convince the Shiny New Engine or the Big Strong Engine--far too impressed with themselves--to say anything but "I can not. I can not." It is left up to the Little Blue Engine to overcome insurmountable odds and pull the train to the other side. The Little Engine That Could is an entertaining and inspirational favorite, and the Little Blue Engine's rallying mantra "I think I can--I think I can" will resonate for a lifetime in the head of every child who hears it. (Ages 4 to 8)) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2–This classic tale has been re-released with updated illustrations and a larger format. The text remains the same. The art, done with acrylics, is stylized and still retains a bit of an old-fashioned flavor. Nevertheless, the '30s look is definitely gone. In its place, readers will find artwork suggestive of a retro '50s look. As with the original, the clown takes center stage. His outfit, however, has changed from green polka dots to red pants, yellow shirt, and a colorful stocking cap. The text, with its, I think I can, I think I can refrain, is a timeless piece of children's literature and so familiar that it needs no elaboration. It's hard to improve upon a classic, and one advantage that the traditional edition has over this one is that the quaint and sentimental text pairs nicely with the antique artwork. The modern illustrations undoubtedly work better with a group but they have a faux feel to them. As such they are a little out of sync with the prim and proper style of writing in the story about the good little boys and girls on the other side of the mountain [who will be] without the wonderful toys to play with and the good food to eat…. Nevertheless, this is an acceptable purchase, especially for those libraries without a copy of the first edition or larger libraries wishing to collect all versions of classic tales.–Roxanne Burg, Orange County Public Library, CA
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Product Details

• Age Range: 2 - 8 years
  
• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: Philomel (September 27, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399244670
• ISBN-13: 978-0399244674
• Product Dimensions: 12.2 x 9.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (88 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #28,082 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

57 of 59 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars rebutting the Editorial Reviews for this book October 4, 2005

By Paul Schliesser

Format:Hardcover

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. Read more ›

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Where's the rest of the story? May 1, 2000

By A Customer

Format:Board book|Amazon Verified Purchase

This will teach me not to read the reviews carefully before purchase. This is a very abridged version of the classic story: the bright shiny engine and the big strong engine are nowhere to be found. If you're after the book you remember from your childhood, find another version. The illustrations are bright & fun, but there's just too much missing from the story.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Abridged edition January 20, 2000

By Bill Franke

Format:Board book

This is one of the great children's stories of all time. I loved it as a child and read it over and over again, and my son has been demanding it as a bedtime story regularly since he was2-1/2 years old. The 1991 Platt & Munk (a division of Grosset & Dunlap) edition, beautifully illustrated by Cristina Ong, leaves out all the requests made to the busy trains. The story is now very brief (which is why I give it only 3 stars instead of the 5 the full-length version deserves)--I suppose because it is a board book--but the essentials are all there. It also changes the sex of the engines from male to female, so perhaps some parents would like to read this edition to their children as well as one of the others.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars This was one of my childhood favorites, but it now features much more vibrant art! October 7, 2006

By Patrick D. Goonan

Format:Hardcover

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. Read more ›

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars BEAUTIFUL ILLUSTRATIONS~GREAT UPDATE November 17, 2006

By Jennifer Windemuller

Format:Hardcover

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...