“I Think I Can, I Think I Can”

Why “The Little Engine That Could” Was Mike’s Childhood Favorite

This is Mike, Village’s co-founder and CEO, and I wanted to tell you about my experience with The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper & the role that it played in my life. In preparation for this series, I sat down with my mom, Lynne, to learn about her experience reading it to me and to get her perspective on why I loved it so much & how it impacted my life.

The first thing I have to say is that my mom is pretty amazing. She guesses that she read this book to me well over 1,000 times, at least once a day for several years and often back-to-back-to-back-to… - you get the idea. While I sat on her lap, she would read to me and, as she closed the book, I would open it again and she would start over. That is love, right there.

And she wasn’t just phoning it in, either. While the train struggled to go uphill, she would read in a slow, labored voice. As the train breezed down hill, it was a quick, happy voice. She was helping me to step into the character’s shoes (wheels?) & to understand what it was going through, an early experience in empathy. 

She read the mantra “I think I can, I think I can” in the rhythm of a steam engine chugging along. I was very young and don’t remember the story that well anymore, but when I hear those words in my head, it is always in that rhythm. 

So why did I like it so much? Well, as many children do, I loved trains so it was a natural fit. Visually, the wheels & their spokes held a particular fascination for me. As the train stops to pick up passengers, fun, new characters hop on (including an elephant, which has always been my favorite animal). I loved how the train & the passengers worked together to get up the hill - sorry, *spoiler alert!* - which I suppose is not surprising for someone who later started a company with “It Takes a Village” in the name. That story of community effort and working towards a common goal has stuck with me.

But perhaps the most important thing is that, to this day, I really do “think I can”. Fueled by a belief in myself & my abilities, I persist and push through my challenges. I’m not saying this to inflate my ego, but to illustrate the lasting impact that a childhood book & its message can have on a person’s life.

How did my mom feel reading this book over and over? According to her, she loved it every time. While the words were the same, the experience with me on her lap was always rewarding and strengthened our bond. As I got a little older, she would keep the experience new by pointing out particular letters and later words. While I was still much too young to be reading, this was my first experience with written language. She loved watching her child engage with a book and learn from it. She’s now reading it to her grandson, so I guess she’s truly not sick of it (in our next newsletter, we will take a look at how a child benefits from reading the same story over & over - despite how tedious that can be for a parent).

With its strong message of positive thinking and community, the Little Engine That Could is definitely one to include on your child’s bookshelf.

The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper has been printed since it was first published in 1930. Please consider purchasing it from your local bookstore or checking it out from your library. It is also available on Amazon. Amazon recommends the book for children ages 1 to 4.