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Mr. Small #4
The Little Train
Mr. Small does it all!
In this adventure, Engineer Small drives his little train from Tinytown to the city-and back. Along the way, the little train passes tunnels and stops at stations to pick up cargo and passengers.
Presented in full color for the first time, Lois Lenski's The Little Train will delight a whole new generation of readers as they learn all about the ins and outs of a working train.
In this adventure, Engineer Small drives his little train from Tinytown to the city-and back. Along the way, the little train passes tunnels and stops at stations to pick up cargo and passengers.
Presented in full color for the first time, Lois Lenski's The Little Train will delight a whole new generation of readers as they learn all about the ins and outs of a working train.
56 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1940
4 people are currently reading
216 people want to read
About the author
Lois Lenski
180 books196 followershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lois_Lenski
Many of Lenski's books can be collated into 'series' - but since they don't have to be read in order, you may be better off just looking for more information here: http://library.illinoisstate.edu/uniq...
Probably her most famous set is the following:
American Regional Series
Beginning with Bayou Suzette in 1943, Lois Lenski began writing a series of books which would become known as her "regional series." In the early 1940s Lenski, who suffered from periodic bouts of ill-health, was told by her doctor that she needed to spend the winter months in a warmer climate than her Connecticut home. As a result, Lenski and her husband Arthur Covey traveled south each fall. Lenski wrote in her autobiography, "On my trips south I saw the real America for the first time. I saw and learned what the word region meant as I witnessed firsthand different ways of life unlike my own. What interested me most was the way children were living" (183).
In Journey Into Childhood, Lenski wrote that she was struck by the fact that there were "plenty of books that tell how children live in Alaska, Holland, China, and Mexico, but no books at all telling about the many ways children live here in the United States"
Bayou Suzette.
Strawberry Girl.
Blue Ridge Billy.
Judy's Journey.
Boom Town Boy.
Cotton in My Sack.
Texas Tomboy.
Prairie School.
Corn-Farm Boy.
San Francisco Boy.
Flood Friday.
Houseboat Girl.
Coal Camp Girl.
Shoo-Fly Girl.
To Be a Logger.
Deer Valley Girl.
Many of Lenski's books can be collated into 'series' - but since they don't have to be read in order, you may be better off just looking for more information here: http://library.illinoisstate.edu/uniq...
Probably her most famous set is the following:
American Regional Series
Beginning with Bayou Suzette in 1943, Lois Lenski began writing a series of books which would become known as her "regional series." In the early 1940s Lenski, who suffered from periodic bouts of ill-health, was told by her doctor that she needed to spend the winter months in a warmer climate than her Connecticut home. As a result, Lenski and her husband Arthur Covey traveled south each fall. Lenski wrote in her autobiography, "On my trips south I saw the real America for the first time. I saw and learned what the word region meant as I witnessed firsthand different ways of life unlike my own. What interested me most was the way children were living" (183).
In Journey Into Childhood, Lenski wrote that she was struck by the fact that there were "plenty of books that tell how children live in Alaska, Holland, China, and Mexico, but no books at all telling about the many ways children live here in the United States"
Bayou Suzette.
Strawberry Girl.
Blue Ridge Billy.
Judy's Journey.
Boom Town Boy.
Cotton in My Sack.
Texas Tomboy.
Prairie School.
Corn-Farm Boy.
San Francisco Boy.
Flood Friday.
Houseboat Girl.
Coal Camp Girl.
Shoo-Fly Girl.
To Be a Logger.
Deer Valley Girl.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
October 17, 2017
So here's a fun fact: the board book edition of The Little Train is abridged. It has fewer pages and the text is less detailed and more streamlined. While as an adult I liked learning about semaphores and such in the original edition, I found myself abridging as I went along to cater to my toddler's attention span. The board book takes care of this.
June 22, 2013
My kids love trains but compared to some of the others this didn't even come close to keeping them interested. Way too much information compared to the size of pictures and I had to read fast to get through all the words before their attention was elsewhere. The problem is I find most kids interested in trains are 2-3 year olds. So by the time they're old enough to understand and digest all the information about trains, they're no longer interested in trains, like my 5-yr-old. This wasn't a book for us.
December 17, 2015
Ding-ding! Choo-choo!!!
....Again!!!
....Again!!!
August 3, 2018
A more detailed look at trains and the day in the life of an engineer than your average story. For the real train enthusiasts for sure.
Ages: 5 - 8
Note: Parents, this book is lengthier than other picture books.
**Like my reviews? I also have hundreds of detailed reports that I offer too. These reports give a complete break-down of everything in the book, so you'll know just how clean it is or isn't. I also have Clean Guides (downloadable PDFs) which enable you to clean up your book before reading it! Visit my website: The Book Radar.
Ages: 5 - 8
Note: Parents, this book is lengthier than other picture books.
**Like my reviews? I also have hundreds of detailed reports that I offer too. These reports give a complete break-down of everything in the book, so you'll know just how clean it is or isn't. I also have Clean Guides (downloadable PDFs) which enable you to clean up your book before reading it! Visit my website: The Book Radar.
January 16, 2009
Quite an excellent little book, containing a surprising amount of technical detail on steam engines and railroad signals. I have really enjoyed reading this over and over and over again to my train-obsessed four-year-old; I certainly learned a few things in the process. Cute illustrations throughout carefully blend realism with tot-accessible simplicity.
July 7, 2014
This was a cute book for train enthusiasts.
May 9, 2021
My daughter is obsessed with watching trains go by, I thought she would enjoy a story book with trains. It's a bit advanced for her, so I think I'll try reading it to her again when she is a bit older. It goes into a little on how the trains work and uses actual names for things you see but have never in your life heard the name of. It was still kinda cute and had pictures that my daughter still enjoyed.
April 1, 2019
Moral: None -- Educational story about trains
Age range: 2 and up
Thoughts: As others have mentioned this book is extremely detailed in the workings of trains and railroads. If your little is a train fanatic this is a great pick for you. Though there are alot of words per page with small pictures to accompany them.
Age range: 2 and up
Thoughts: As others have mentioned this book is extremely detailed in the workings of trains and railroads. If your little is a train fanatic this is a great pick for you. Though there are alot of words per page with small pictures to accompany them.
June 21, 2019
I thought this would be a cute train story, but it’s incredibly boring. I feel like if I’d written this for a writing assignment, I would have been scored low for excessive use of “the” and repetitive sentence structure. Pick a different train book. The little engine that could (there seem to be several versions, and some better than others) Locomotive by Brian Floca is exceedingly well done.
February 25, 2020
It's been a while since I've read this one ... But I think I read it about a half million times when my 3rd was a toddler. 🙈 I wasn't too disappointed when he gradually stopped asking for it so often. 🙈
If your child is interested in all things trains, they'll probably enjoy this one, although it's definitely an "old-fashioned" book and a bit on the longish for it's target audience.
If your child is interested in all things trains, they'll probably enjoy this one, although it's definitely an "old-fashioned" book and a bit on the longish for it's target audience.
October 19, 2020
In this adventure, Engineer Small drives his little train from Tinytown to the city-and back. Along the way, the little train passes tunnels and stops at stations to pick up cargo and passengers.
Presented in full color for the first time, Lois Lenski's The Little Train will delight a whole new generation of readers as they learn all about the ins and outs of a working train.
Presented in full color for the first time, Lois Lenski's The Little Train will delight a whole new generation of readers as they learn all about the ins and outs of a working train.
November 7, 2019
My children absolutely adore this book. Reading literature is so important to the development of a child's mind, and I cannot think of thing I would rather do then sit down to read to them in the evenings. Imagination and growth are so vital in those so young.
November 26, 2017
Good for kindergarten-age kids that are into trains
January 11, 2018
Le tengo que decir al sobrino que hay un libro de trenes.
En préstamo en la OpenLibrary
https://openlibrary.org/books/OL11316...
En préstamo en la OpenLibrary
https://openlibrary.org/books/OL11316...
January 26, 2018
sweet book. one of my favorite of the small collection.
July 22, 2019
Great book for the little train lovers. Enough detail to keep older children engaged, enough pictures of trains to keep the littlest ones fascinated.
Read
July 6, 2021Cute little book for anyone who loves trains. I will totally admit that my vocabulary grew with this one. I now know what a semaphore is!!
July 17, 2021
My son liked it and I learned how a train worked. This is a fun book.
September 22, 2023
I loved the details in this story. I didn’t expect my students to really enjoy this one but they loved it!
There was a lot of information about how trains work.
There was a lot of information about how trains work.
November 8, 2024
11/7/24 Read with Skylar
July 21, 2025
4.5. Quite darling. And I learned some locomotive anatomy!
September 27, 2025
Very dense for a little book but it kept my train-loving toddler’s attention
October 3, 2025
I liked the old-fashioned illustrations, but the text was kind of blah (interesting new vocab. though, like the word semaphore!). JF loved it, though. :)
October 23, 2017
Genre: Contemporary Realistic
Grade Level: 3
Personally, I found this hard to follow and difficult to understand. It was a nice, educational book, but some of the language was too advanced in my opinion. I had a hard time knowing what was going on in the story. If I was having trouble, I believe it would be too difficult for young children as well. The illustrations are nice. I liked that the book was little to match " The Little Train" and "Mr. Small". It was not my favorite, but maybe someone who likes and understands engines would have a better time with it.
Grade Level: 3
Personally, I found this hard to follow and difficult to understand. It was a nice, educational book, but some of the language was too advanced in my opinion. I had a hard time knowing what was going on in the story. If I was having trouble, I believe it would be too difficult for young children as well. The illustrations are nice. I liked that the book was little to match " The Little Train" and "Mr. Small". It was not my favorite, but maybe someone who likes and understands engines would have a better time with it.
February 26, 2017
Cute but wordy and not that exciting.
January 7, 2013
I hadn't heard of this book before coming across it rather randomly at a little shop in a small Ontario town, but it was rather cute and the kids love anything to do with trains and trucks etc.
The story purports to be about Engineer Small and his little engine, but it's really just about the little engine and it's journey from Tiny Town to the city.
The illustrations have that 1940s look to them, and rules of perspective are enthusiastically thrown out the window, but they're very engaging and there's some nice details in them for the kids to find. It also has some nice sound-effects, which are always fun to make when reading aloud.
The story purports to be about Engineer Small and his little engine, but it's really just about the little engine and it's journey from Tiny Town to the city.
The illustrations have that 1940s look to them, and rules of perspective are enthusiastically thrown out the window, but they're very engaging and there's some nice details in them for the kids to find. It also has some nice sound-effects, which are always fun to make when reading aloud.
February 10, 2015
This book is delightful. The illustrations are quaint. The plot is simple: Engineer Small prepares his engine and safely conducts it - passengers, baggage, and mail included - to the next town, passing landmarks such as a drawbridge, railroad crossing, and a tunnel. Along the way, concepts such as the meaning of semaphore positions and the functioning of a steam engine are explained in clear uncomplicated terms. I learned a lot from this book, as did my son, and after multiple readings I still delight in its simplicity of design and complexity of concepts conveyed.This is the first Mr. Small book I've read, and I look forward to reading the others.
October 2, 2012
What I most liked about this book was all the details about the names and functions of different parts of the engine that are incorporated into the story. It describes how they prepare the train for take off. Along the way, attention is brought to the things the engineer need to watch out for, how the express train passes the little train, etc. For a simple little story, surprisingly informative. Perfect for an inquisitive 4 year old!
January 17, 2013
Published in 1940, this little book will be sure to delight kids even today, with it's charming pictures done in both black and white, and sporadic red. Train enthusiasts will appreciate the page that tells what each part of the train engine engine is called.
The Little Train is all about Engine Small, his little black train, and his steam engine. It's a story about a journey that his train goes on. Train lovers will adore this book and the illustrations.
The Little Train is all about Engine Small, his little black train, and his steam engine. It's a story about a journey that his train goes on. Train lovers will adore this book and the illustrations.
August 25, 2016
Old fashioned and showing it's age. It's still neat to read especially to contrast with Rev Awdry's Thomas the Tank Engine stories which came around a few short years later. Awdry's stories end up being more fun, but, it's still neat to see the depictions of a little engine resting in a roundhouse.
This is more of a book for a little train enthusiast. It goes on a bit long for small children with only a passive interest in trains.
This is more of a book for a little train enthusiast. It goes on a bit long for small children with only a passive interest in trains.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews