The little train

Mr. Small #4

by Lois Lenski

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.

Genres: Picture Books, Trains, Childrens, Transport, Classics, School, Fiction

45 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1940

About the author

Lois Lenore Lenski Covey was an influential American author and illustrator whose work reshaped twentieth-century children’s literature through its combination of artistic skill, documentary realism, and deep empathy for childhood experience. Beginning her publishing career in the late 1920s, she went on to write and illustrate nearly one hundred books, ranging from picture books and historical novels to regional fiction, poetry, songbooks, and literary essays. She is best known for the Mr. Small picture book series, her meticulously researched historical novels, and her groundbreaking Regional books, which portrayed the everyday lives of children across diverse American communities.
Born in Ohio and trained formally as both an educator and an artist, Lenski studied at Ohio State University, the Art Students League of New York, and the Westminster School of Art in London. Although she initially aspired to be a painter, exhibiting work in New York galleries, she gradually turned to illustration and then to writing, encouraged by pioneering children’s editor Helen Dean Fish. Her early books drew heavily on her Midwestern childhood, while later works reflected extensive travel, field research, and close observation of family and community life.
Lenski achieved major critical recognition with her historical novels Phebe Fairchild: Her Book and Indian Captive, and with her Regional novel Strawberry Girl, which won the Newbery Medal. These works were notable for their commitment to authenticity, incorporating dialect, material culture, and social realities often avoided in children’s books of the era. She believed that literature for young readers should neither sentimentalize nor sanitize life, but instead foster understanding, tolerance, and empathy.
Alongside her own writing, Lenski illustrated works by other major authors, including Watty Piper’s The Little Engine That Could and the early volumes of Maud Hart Lovelace’s Betsy-Tacy series. Her influence extended beyond publishing through lectures, teaching, and advocacy. In 1967 she established the Lois Lenski Covey Foundation, dedicated to providing books to children facing social and economic disadvantage.
In her later years, Lenski continued writing while living in Florida, publishing her autobiography Journey into Childhood shortly before her death. Her legacy endures through her books, her educational philosophy, and ongoing efforts to expand access to literature for children.

Reviews

[Dianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[J9 · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[ThatLeo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ding-ding! Choo-choo!!!


....Again!!!

[Luisa Knight · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

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[Aldean · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute book for train enthusiasts.

[Sarah Brooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[ReadingwithKiddies · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Shannon · Rating 1 out of 5]

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.

[Jenny Hartfelder · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good for kindergarten-age kids that are into trains

[Sol González · Rating 3 out of 5]

Le tengo que decir al sobrino que hay un libro de trenes.

En préstamo en la OpenLibrary
https://openlibrary.org/books/OL11316...

[Brian Bates · Rating 5 out of 5]

sweet book. one of my favorite of the small collection.

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for the little train lovers. Enough detail to keep older children engaged, enough pictures of trains to keep the littlest ones fascinated.

[Amanda Novak]

Cute 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!!

[Jeremiah · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son liked it and I learned how a train worked. This is a fun book.

[Krista · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Danette · Rating 3 out of 5]

11/7/24 Read with Skylar

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5. Quite darling. And I learned some locomotive anatomy!

[Jenae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very dense for a little book but it kept my train-loving toddler’s attention

[Remy · Rating 3 out of 5]

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. :)

[Rachel Collins · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute but wordy and not that exciting.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Avigail · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Fjóla · Rating 4 out of 5]

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!

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Jennifer (JenIsNotaBookSnob) · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.