Good morning, boys and girls. I’m glad to see that you’ve come to hear the story. This story was a favorite in our family… This story was written 90 years ago, and the drawings in this edition of the book were the original, 1930 illustrations.
When you come upon something that you need to do, but it seems to be a bit too difficult for you complete, you can remember this story and say to yourself, “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can”; and maybe, just maybe, you’ll be able to succeed after trying harder and believing in yourself!
Click here to listen to THE LITTLE ENGINE THAT COULD
Things to think about and discuss…
Ask your parents if they knew this story. If they did know it, maybe they can tell you some memories they had of themselves reading it when they were younger. Or, they can tell you about one of their favorite childhood stories.
How many trains were there? What words did the author use to ‘name’ the trains?
Take a minute to look at the page that says “And there were cars full of toy engines, airplanes, tops, jack-knives, picture puzzles, books, and every kind of thing boys or girls could want.” Do those toys look like your toys now, or are your toys different from these, I wonder? Did your parents have any of the toys on this page?
Maybe you can say the “I think I can-I think I can-I think I can” part of the story together with whomever is reading it with you…
For the craft today…
Can you draw (or make using a milk carton), one of the train engines from this story? You can choose from the little train (who couldn’t get over the hill), the Shiny New Engine (who came first), the Big Strong Freight Engine(who came second), or, the Little Blue Engine (who was the last train to come). Take a look at them again in the story video.
I hope that you enjoyed the story today! See you next time :).
I think I can–I think I can–I think I can–I think I can-I think YOU can!
Ms. Hoshi