''The Little Engine That Could'' is an American folktale (existing in the form of several illustrated children's books and films) that became widely known in the United States after publication in 1930 by
Platt & Munk
Grosset & Dunlap is a New York City-based publishing house founded in 1898.
The company was purchased by G. P. Putnam's Sons in 1982 and today is part of Penguin Random House through its subsidiary Penguin Group.
Today, through the Penguin Gro ...
. The story is used to teach children the value of optimism and hard work. Based on a 2007 online poll, the
National Education Association
The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the United States. It represents public school teachers and other support personnel, faculty and staffers at colleges and universities, retired educators, and college stude ...
listed the book as one of its "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children".
Background
The story's signature phrases such as "I think I can" first occurred in print in a 1902 article in a Swedish journal.
An early published version of the story, "
Story of the Engine That Thought It Could", appeared in the ''
New-York Tribune
The ''New-York Tribune'' was an American newspaper founded in 1841 by editor Horace Greeley. It bore the moniker ''New-York Daily Tribune'' from 1842 to 1866 before returning to its original name. From the 1840s through the 1860s it was the domi ...
'' on April 8, 1906, as part of a sermon by the Rev. Charles S. Wing.
A brief version of the tale appeared under the title ''
Thinking One Can'' in 1906, in ''Wellspring for Young People'', a
Sunday school
A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West.
Su ...
publication.
This version reappeared in a 1910 book, ''Foundation Stones of Success''.
Another version was published under the name "
The Pony Engine" in the ''Kindergarten Review'' in 1910, written by
Mary C. Jacobs.
A different version with the same title appeared in a magazine for children in 1916 under the name of Mabel C. Bragg, a teacher.
She introduced new events to the story, such as the train's kid-friendly cargo, but she "took no credit for originating the story".
The story first appeared in print with the title ''The Little Engine That Could'' in 1920, collected in Volume I of My Book House, which is a set of books sold in the U.S. by door-to-door salespersons.
The Book House version began, "Once there was a Train-of-Cars; she was flying across the country with a load of Christmas toys for the children who lived on the other side of the mountain."
The story was labeled "As told by
Olive Beaupré Miller"; the first edition gave credit to Bragg, but subsequent editions did not as Miller subsequently concluded that "the story belonged to the realm of folk literature".
Miller was the founding editor and publisher of The Book House for Children, a company based in Chicago.
The best known incarnation of the story ''The Little Engine That Could'' was written by "Watty Piper" in 1930, a pen name of Arnold Munk, who was the owner of the publishing firm Platt & Munk.
Munk used the name Watty Piper as both an author of children's books and as the editor of many of the books that Platt & Munk published. He personally hired
Lois Lenski
Lois Lenore Lenski Covey (October 14, 1893 – September 11, 1974) was a Newbery Medal-winning author and illustrator of picture books and children's literature. Beginning in 1927 with her first books, ''Skipping Village'' and ''Jack Horner's Pie: ...
to illustrate the book. This retelling of the tale ''The Pony Engine'' appeared in 1930, with a title page that stated: "Retold by Watty Piper from The Pony Engine by Mabel C. Bragg's copyrighted by George H. Doran and Co."
In 1954, Platt & Munk published another version of ''The Little Engine That Could'', with slightly revised language and new, more colorful illustrations by
George and Doris Hauman George Hauman (1890–1961) and Doris Holt Hauman (August 29, 1898 – 1984) were American illustrators of children's books. They illustrated a popular 1954 edition of ''The Little Engine That Could''.Cullinan, Bernice E., and Diane Goetz Person. '' ...
.
[Cullinan, Bernice E., and Diane Goetz Person. ''The Continuum Encyclopedia of Children's Literature''. Continuum International Publishing Group, August 1, 2003]
Pg. 634
/ref> Although there had been many previous editions of this classic story, "It was the work of George and Doris Hauman that earned ''The Little Engine'' the title of being worthy to sit on the same shelf as ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland), Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a ...
''." A 1976 rework that featured art by Ruth Sanderson
Ruth Sanderson (born 1951) is an American illustrator and writer of children's books.
Biography
Sanderson graduated from the Paier College of Art in Connecticut in 1974.Stevens (2001), 107. She is a member of the Society of Illustrators, the S ...
received a lot of attention at the time of its release, in part because it prompted a discussion of gender stereotypes.
Plot
In the tale, a long train must be pulled over a high mountain after its locomotive breaks down. Larger locomotives, treated anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology.
Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...
ally, are asked to pull the train; for various reasons they refuse. The request is sent to a small engine, who agrees to try. The engine succeeds in pulling the train over the mountain while repeating the motto: "I-think-I-can".
The story of the little engine has been told and retold many times. The underlying theme is the same—a stranded train is unable to find an engine willing to take it on over difficult terrain to its destination. Only the little engine is willing to try and, while repeating the mantra "I think I can, I think I can", overcomes a seemingly impossible task.
An early version goes as follows:
A little railroad engine was employed about a station yard for such work as it was built for, pulling a few cars on and off the switches. One morning it was waiting for the next call when a long train of freight-cars asked a large engine in the roundhouse to take it over the hill. "I can't; that is too much a pull for me", said the great engine built for hard work. Then the train asked another engine, and another, only to hear excuses and be refused. In desperation, the train asked the little switch engine
A switcher, shunter, yard pilot, switch engine, yard goat, or shifter is a small railroad locomotive used for manoeuvring railroad cars inside a rail yard in a process known as ''switching'' (US) or ''shunting'' (UK). Switchers are not inten ...
to draw it up the grade and down on the other side. "I think I can", puffed the little locomotive, and put itself in front of the great heavy train. As it went on the little engine kept bravely puffing faster and faster, "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can."
As it neared the top of the grade, which had so discouraged the larger engines, it went more slowly. However, it still kept saying, "I—think—I—can, I—think—I—can." It reached the top by drawing on bravery and then went on down the grade, congratulating itself by saying, "I thought I could, I thought I could."
A Disney version of the story was published in 1976:
The story begins with a toy-filled train pulled by a small red engine on its way to a town on the other side of a mountain but the engine shortly breaks down upon reaching the mountain. The toy clown flags down other engines to help them: a shiny yellow passenger engine, a big black freight engine, and a rusty old engine. The shiny passenger engine and big freight engine both refuse to help them and the rusty old engine is too tired and must rest. Finally, a little blue engine arrives. Although she is simply a switcher engine and has never been over the mountain, she agrees to help pull the train. In the end, she was able to successfully reach the top of the mountain before slowly heading down towards the town.
Versions
Later versions would revamp the story to have a more specific appeal for children – the stranded train is recast as a train of good food and anthropomorphic toys for the children across the mountain, thus in saving the train the little engine seems to be working for the benefit of the child reader, making the successful deed all the more triumphant.
In these versions another character appeared and remained a key part of the story hereafter – the clown ringleader of the toys who attempts to find help with several locomotives but is rebuffed. The number of engines in the story also eventually became standard across the tellings: The happy locomotive on the toy train who breaks down and cannot go on, the pompous passenger engine who considers himself too grand for the task, the powerful freight engine who views himself as too important, and the elderly engine who lacks either the strength or determination to help the toys. The little blue engine always appears last and, although perhaps reluctant (some editions have the engine clarify her role as a switcher not suited for excursions), always rises to the occasion and saves the day for the children over the mountain.
Each engine is defined by its appearance or function and is not given a name or personality beyond its role on the railroad. It is only in the 1991 film adaption that the engines' personalities are expanded on, including the granting of names: ''Farnsworth'' (the express engine), ''Pete'' (the freight engine), ''Georgia'' (the friendly engine of the toy train), ''Jebediah'' (the elderly engine) and ''Tillie'', the titular "little engine that could". The clown was also named "Rollo" and a sixth engine character, ''Doc'', appeared briefly to recover the broken-down Georgia and thus tie up the hanging story-thread of what happened to the failed engine of the toy train, which all other versions leave unaddressed. The 2011 adaptation expanded the storyline, this time with the little engine now working in DreamLand with Rusty (an old steam engine) alongside other Dream Haulers, trains that carried dreams to the real world while the original personalities of the previous locomotives absent from this version.
Films
The tale with its easy-to-grasp moral has become a classic children's story and was adapted in January 1991 as a 30-minute animated film produced in Wales and co-financed in Wales and the United States. The film named the famous little engine ''Tillie'' and expanded the narrative into a larger story of self-discovery.
In March 2011, the story was adapted as a 3-D film named ''The Little Engine That Could
''The Little Engine That Could'' is an American folktale (existing in the form of several illustrated children's books and films) that became widely known in the United States after publication in 1930 by Platt & Munk. The story is used to teac ...
'', produced by Universal Studios
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
and featuring the voices of Whoopi Goldberg
Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ' ...
, Jamie Lee Curtis
Jamie Lee Curtis (born November 22, 1958) is an American actress, producer, children's author, and activist. She came to prominence with her portrayal of Lt. Barbara Duran on the ABC sitcom '' Operation Petticoat'' (1977–78). In 1978, she m ...
, Alyson Stoner
Alyson Rae Stoner (born August 11, 1993) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Her film roles include ''Cheaper by the Dozen'' (2003), '' Cheaper by the Dozen 2'' (2005), and the ''Step Up'' franchise (2006–2014). Her television roles i ...
, and Corbin Bleu
Corbin Bleu Reivers (; born February 21, 1989), known professionally as Corbin Bleu, is an American actor and singer. He made his acting debut in the 2004 adventure comedy film ''Catch That Kid''. He has since appeared in the Discovery Kids dra ...
.
Song
Burl Ives
Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American musician, actor, and author with a career that spanned more than six decades.
Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his own rad ...
recorded the story told as a song "The Little Engine That Could" written by Gerald Marks
Gerald Marks (October 13, 1900 – January 27, 1997) was an American composer from Saginaw, Michigan. He was best known for the song " All of Me" which he co-wrote with Seymour Simons and has been recorded about 2,000 times. He also wrote the s ...
and Milton Pascal
Milton may refer to:
Names
* Milton (surname), a surname (and list of people with that surname)
** John Milton (1608–1674), English poet
* Milton (given name)
** Milton Friedman (1912–2006), Nobel laureate in Economics, author of '' Free t ...
with an orchestra directed by Percy Faith
Percy Faith (April 7, 1908 – February 9, 1976) was a Canadian-American bandleader, orchestrator, composer and conductor, known for his lush arrangements of pop and Christmas standards. He is often credited with popularizing the "easy listenin ...
. The song was released on the album '''' in 1964.
"Little Engine" toys and rail tours
From 2005 to 2008, a full-size replica of the Little Engine That Could made an annual circuit around the United States. Arranged through Rail Events, Inc., a number of tourist and museum railroad operations hosted the "I Think I Can" Rail Tour. The replica was constructed in 2005 by the Strasburg Rail Road
The Strasburg Rail Road is a heritage railroad and the oldest continuously operating standard-gauge railroad in the western hemisphere, as well as the oldest public utility in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Chartered in 1832, the Strasburg Rai ...
in southeast Pennsylvania who also constructed the ''Thomas The Tank Engine
Thomas the Tank Engine is an anthropomorphised fictional tank locomotive in the British ''Railway Series'' books by Wilbert Awdry and his son, Christopher, published from 1945. He became the most popular and famous character in the series, a ...
'' replicas that tour the United States. The last tour was in 2008. In 2009, the replica only appeared at the Texas State Railroad
The Texas State Railroad is a historic heritage railroad between Rusk and Palestine, Texas. Built by inmates, it was founded in 1883 by the state of Texas to haul raw materials for a smelter at the prison at Rusk. Regular service on the line was ...
. In 2011, the website for the tour said that there would be dates announced for 2011, but dates were never posted and the message was still present in 2012 until it went offline. The last time the train ever operated was on September 16, 2012. As of 2015, the replica is owned by the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad
The Great Smoky Mountains Railroad is a freight and heritage railroad based in Bryson City, North Carolina, United States. Since late 1999, the railroad is currently owned and operated by American Heritage Railways, Inc., which also owns and ...
, and has since been repainted to remove all references to the Little Engine That Could. It is currently displayed at the depot. Reasons for why the tour stopped are unknown.
American toy company Whittle Shortline
Wooden toy trains are toy trains that run on a wooden track system with grooves to guide the wheels of the rolling stock. While the trains, tracks and scenery accessories are made mainly of wood, the engines and cars connect to each other usin ...
produces wooden toy train
Wooden toy trains are toy trains that run on a wooden track system with grooves to guide the wheels of the rolling stock. While the trains, tracks and scenery accessories are made mainly of wood, the engines and cars connect to each other using ...
s of The Little Engine That Could as a domestic alternative to ''Thomas the Tank Engine
Thomas the Tank Engine is an anthropomorphised fictional tank locomotive in the British ''Railway Series'' books by Wilbert Awdry and his son, Christopher, published from 1945. He became the most popular and famous character in the series, a ...
''. Maxim Enterprise held the license prior to 2006.
List of other Little Engine That Could books
*''The Little Engine That Could and the Big Chase''
*''I Knew You Could!''
*''And The Fire Rescue''
*''Choo Choo Charlie Saves the Carnival''
*''And The Snowy, Blowy Christmas''
*''Good Night, Little Engine''
*''Three Little Engines''
Legacy
A 1949 recording of the story by Paul Wing
Paul Wing (August 14, 1892 – May 29, 1957) was an assistant director at Paramount Pictures. He won the 1935 Best Assistant Director Academy Award for '' The Lives of a Bengal Lancer'' along with Clem Beauchamp. Wing was the assistant directo ...
was inducted to the National Recording Registry
The National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States." The registry was established by the National Recording Preservati ...
in 2009.
In popular culture
* In the 1941 Disney movie ''Dumbo
''Dumbo'' is a 1941 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The fourth Disney animated feature film, it is based upon the storyline written by Helen Aberson and Harold Pearl, a ...
'' (as well as the Disneyland
Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney in ...
theme park ride), when Casey Jr. the circus train puffs up a hill, he chants, "I think I can!" and "I thought I could!" when going down the hill.
* The story is incorporated into the 1977 special ''The Easter Bunny Is Comin' to Town
''The Easter Bunny is Comin' to Town'' is a 1977 musical Easter television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions, using their "Animagic" stop motion animation. It reunites the writer Romeo Muller. designer Paul Coker Jr., and narrator Fred A ...
'', in which the engine is named "Chugs" and is commissioned by the Easter Bunny
The Easter Bunny (also called the Easter Rabbit or Easter Hare) is a folkloric figure and symbol of Easter, depicted as a rabbit—sometimes dressed with clothes—bringing Easter eggs. Originating among German Lutherans, the "Easter Hare" orig ...
to deliver Easter candy.
* This book was chosen by "Jumpstart Read for the Record" to be read worldwide to tens of thousands of children on August 24, 2006.
* Shel Silverstein
Sheldon Allan Silverstein (; September 25, 1930 – May 10, 1999) was an American writer, poet, cartoonist, singer / songwriter, musician, and playwright. Born and raised in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, Silverstein briefly attended universit ...
wrote the poem "The Little Blue Engine", which referenced this story.
* A song version co-written by famed ''Looney Tunes
''Looney Tunes'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series ''Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation. '' writer Warren Foster
Warren Foster (October 24, 1904 – December 13, 1971) was an American writer, cartoonist and composer for the animation division of Warner Brothers and later with Hanna-Barbera.
Early life
He was born in Brooklyn, New York to Marion B. Fos ...
was covered by the likes of John Denver
Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, activist, and humanitarian whose greatest commercial success was as a solo singe ...
, Burl Ives
Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American musician, actor, and author with a career that spanned more than six decades.
Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his own rad ...
and Guy Lombardo
Gaetano Alberto "Guy" Lombardo (June 19, 1902 – November 5, 1977) was an Italian-Canadian-American bandleader, violinist, and hydroplane racer.
Lombardo formed the Royal Canadians in 1924 with his brothers Carmen, Lebert and Victor, and othe ...
.
* Variations of the story are also found in ''Choo-Choo, the Little Switch Engine'' by Wallace Wadsworth (published by Rand McNally) and in Peter Pan Records' ''Puff 'N Toot''. In these stories, the titular locomotives are tasked with carrying their trains over a nearby steep mountain. Choo-Choo must substitute for a passenger engine who has broken down. Puff 'N Toot, carrying children to a summer campground, is unable to cross a damaged bridge, and must resort to using an old mountain track. The line "I think I can" is replaced with "I gotta make it" in this second story.
*Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...
has a song named 'Little Engine' in his album Music To Be Murdered By
''Music to Be Murdered By'' is the eleventh studio album by American rapper Eminem. It was released on January 17, 2020, by Shady Records, Aftermath Entertainment, and Interscope Records. Just like Eminem’s previous studio album ''Kamikaze'' ( ...
. The song was heavily packed with references from the book.Little Engine - EminemMusic on YouTube
/ref>
See also
* ''The Little Engine That Could
''The Little Engine That Could'' is an American folktale (existing in the form of several illustrated children's books and films) that became widely known in the United States after publication in 1930 by Platt & Munk. The story is used to teac ...
'' – The 1991 film adaptation of the book.
* ''The Little Engine That Could
''The Little Engine That Could'' is an American folktale (existing in the form of several illustrated children's books and films) that became widely known in the United States after publication in 1930 by Platt & Munk. The story is used to teac ...
'' – The 2011 CGI film starring Alyson Stoner
Alyson Rae Stoner (born August 11, 1993) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Her film roles include ''Cheaper by the Dozen'' (2003), '' Cheaper by the Dozen 2'' (2005), and the ''Step Up'' franchise (2006–2014). Her television roles i ...
.
* Thomas the Tank Engine
Thomas the Tank Engine is an anthropomorphised fictional tank locomotive in the British ''Railway Series'' books by Wilbert Awdry and his son, Christopher, published from 1945. He became the most popular and famous character in the series, a ...
– A similar British character.
References
External links
*
''The Little Engine That Could''
(1963 10-min film) at Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
, by Coronet Films
Coronet Films (also known as Coronet Instructional Media Inc.) was a leading producer and distributor of many American documentary shorts shown in public schools, mostly in the 16mm format, from the 1940s through the 1980s (when the videocasset ...
''Volume I of My Book House''
''The Little Engine That Could'' starts on p. 193.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Little Engine That Could, The
1930 children's books
American picture books
Children's books about rail transport
Fictional locomotives
Snowclones
United States National Recording Registry recordings
Book series introduced in the 1930s