The Little Engine That Could (Martha Coakley

THE LITTLE ENGINE THAT COULD: STANDING THE TEST OF TIME By: Martha Coakley

Do books from my long-ago childhood stand the test of time? Are they still good stories? Is the humor still funny? Is the version of historical fiction still accurate? Do the characters and settings ring true? With so much emphasis on “Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors”, I have learned to reflect more on what books we choose for our children. I initially thought about The Little House on the Prairie series. I loved the sisters playing with things like pumpkins and corn husks as toys. Making butter looked like fun! Detailed descriptions such as Pa making a ball to play with from a pig bladder felt nostalgic and quaint even though I didn’t understand those emotions for what they were at the time. I reflect on those books now and realize that the Ingalls family were squatters on Native American land. Does that fact make them obsolete in today’s world? Should I tell the story of how I borrowed Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret from our library? We had weekly library trips with our mom. I had read other Judy Blume books, so I thought I would like it as well. I became more and more embarrassed as I read it. That book lingered hidden under my bed for so long that the librarian eventually mentioned it to my mother. I had not wanted to go to the library and return the book because then the librarian would know that I was reading about periods. The horror! We are better now about being more open about such things, such as basic bodily functions. Should we use books with topics that some people find awkward to normalize such things? Perhaps I should write about The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper. My younger brother often took this book home from the library. It made frequent appearances at bedtime cuddles and reading. Our dad would read to us any night he was home and not traveling for work. We were the last two in a family of six children, forever the little kids. My brother, dad, and I would climb into my brother’s bed, and dad would read the book. He loved the story probably because it appealed to his strong work ethic and tenacious personality. He really did “ham it up” with dramatics. My brother and I came to love the book too. I was cheering for the toys to make it to the children, and my brother simply liked the trains. Mom and Dad were known to say “I think I can, I think I can” to encourage us to try harder whatever the situation might be. The “I don’t think I can” was employed more often such as task avoidance for chores. Cleaning up dinner dishes, helping with the leaves or trash might be a place where my brother or I would play the “I am too small and too young game”. Such antics were greeted with “I think I can, I think I can”.

Footnote: Schoolwide Consultant