The Little Engine That Could Earns Her Whistle

THE LITTLE ENGINE THAT COULD® EARNS HER WHISTLE BACKGROUNDER
How It Came to Be
Perhaps the single best-known picture book of all time is Watty Piper's The Little Engine That Could. The resolute chorus of "I think I can, I think I can" has inspired young people to new heights of determination for decades. Our approach to this classic tale, though, was not to focus solely on Little Blue's impressive feat of solo perseverance; instead, we highlighted her changing relationships with well-intentioned friends (particularly Little Red) and intimidating authority figures like Silver.
Our main concern was to keep audiences emotionally engaged with the story at all times. Children should be able to empathize with all the ups and downs experienced by a small engine who is told she's not good enough or strong enough, but believes in herself anyway. They should be able to connect the onstage adventures with their own lives. This imaginative leap, we believe, is one of the most important lessons theatre has to offer.
The Set and the Music

Anthropomorphizing trains is difficult to accomplish with elegance, so we decided to construct an elaborate train yard set -- complete with working crossing-gate -- and to dress the actors in engineer's garb rather than attempting to make them look like engines. Again, we encourage young viewers to suspend their disbelief and to join us in bringing inanimate objects to life.
The music for Little Engine is catchy, cheery, and driven by a continuing march-like beat that echoes the pulse of train wheels on the track. The phrase "I Think I Can," is transformed into an inspirational and show-stopping anthem.

Themes
Although Little Blue and Little Red are very close friends, they must at times deal with mutual frustration and jealousy; they demonstrate how to keep goodwill alive despite trying circumstances. Little Blue also struggles to understand the always-supportive Rusty, an engine whose time for retirement is drawing near. Children are intrigued to see a believable character of their own age who values her relationship with an older friend.
But, the most enduring theme of this story is overcoming discouragement and disappointment. If you think you can and you work hard, then you can! As founding co-director Gary Blackman puts it, children should always try to "ignore negative comments that people may say about them" and approach the most difficult person or task with renewed self-confidence.