Good Night, Little Engine

April 1, 2020
The line between book and brand blurs with this bedtime take on an old standby. Watty Piper's little blue engine, best known for her persistence, now finds herself wide awake in the roundhouse when bedtime comes. Venturing out to investigate a nighttime sound, she finds a lost baby bird and decides to return it to its mother. Immediately they engage the help of Rusty Engine and some of the toys from the original story. These now appear to live with the engines in the roundhouse (guess they never made it to the good little girls and boys after all?). But what's this? The mama bird has been living in the roundhouse this whole time too! (So what was Little Bird doing outside? And how is it that he doesn't recognize the roundhouse as his home?) Family is reunited. Art meant to evoke bygone days depicts characters and scenery alike in bright, bold colors. The dolls include a light-skinned one with blond hair and one brown-skinned doll with brown hair as well as a monkey that unfortunately reinforces the old silly-monkey stereotype. One cannot help but remark that, with the release of the 90th-anniversary edition of The Little Engine That Could, newly illustrated by Dan Santat (2020), this tepid, illogical title, riding on the coattails of a classic, seems totally unnecessary. We think you can, we think you can, we think you can...skip this superfluous outing. (Picture book. 3-6)

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June 5, 2020

Toddler-PreS-This gentle bedtime book featuring the Little Engine retains much of the old-fashioned charm of the original. This time, a more contemporary Little Engine battles insomnia and cannot seem to settle down to sleep. Hearing an unfamiliar noise, the Little Engine is roused completely, and she embarks on a quest to save a baby bird who has fallen from its nest. Although those familiar with the classic book will see the characters reimagined faithfully by Howarth, the edges and colors of the cast have been softened here. While the Little Engine is clearly concerned with her sleeplessness in the first few pages, the rest of the book is soothing and contains lots of positive problem solving. The text rhymes and provides the lovely ending image of "dreams descend[ing] along the track." As anxiety in younger children becomes more common, this book is rather timely. VERDICT The book is not groundbreaking in content or appearance, but it is sure to please a large contingent of train-loving children.-Shannon O'Connor, Unami M.S., Chalfont, PA

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