Like most little boys, Noah loves vehicles of all sorts. I try to find books that will capture his attention, and at the same time, have some kind of common theme, so I was pretty pleased when I saw these two books about trains.
I found an abridged version of The Little Engine that Could, and thought it was a good way to teach him about kindness, as well as trying his best. Recently, I’ve noticed that he tends to take the easy way out whenever he faces challenges, and often tells us, “I don’t know.” or “I cannot do it.” C and I feel that it is important for him to learn about resilience and perseverance, so I thought the book would be a subtle way to encourage Noah not to give up easily.
In The Little Engine that Could, a train carrying plenty of goodies for children living on the other side of the mountain breaks down, and the toys from the train try asking other passing trains for help. All of them refuse to help, except the little blue train, who hasn’t ever been to the other side of the mountain before, but is willing to try.
Noah got a little upset that the other trains refused to help, and I took the opportunity to talk to him about being kind to others, and helping those in need. He also loves chanting “I think I can, I think I can” together with me as we read the story, and I’ve been reminding him about how the little engine says it whenever he thinks he cannot do something.
The Little Engine that Could
Noah thoroughly enjoyed Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site, so I figured he would like Steam Train, Dream Train as well, since it is by the same author and illustrator.
We both love looking at the beautiful illustrations in the book, and the rhymes make the book easy to read. Noah especially likes looking at the animals working to load the train up, and has plenty of questions about what the animals are doing, and why the train carries so many different types of cargo. It’s definitely a fun book to read, and I love how it slowly winds down, to get the reader ready for bed as well.
Steam Train, Dream Train
The Little Engine that Could has two valuable lessons for children, and I’ve already ordered a copy of it from Book Depository, because it’s a great book to add to our ever-expanding bookshelf. Steam Train, Dream Train is a great bedtime story to read to train lovers, especially since it ends with all the animals going to sleep after working hard.
Happy reading!
Buy the Book The Little Engine that Could on Amazon The Little Engine that Could on Book Depository Steam Train, Dream Train on Amazon Steam Train, Dream Train on Book Depository
Check out the previous Friday Flips posts HERE. I’ve also created a photo album on Facebook with some other good reads, and will be updating it whenever I come across more books that we enjoy. Do pop by for a look HERE.
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