copyright 1961; "The Complete, Original Edition Retold by Watty Piper"; illustrated by George & Doris Hauman; Platt & Munk publishers, New York; smaller hardbound; very good condition of pages; boards very good with minor small edge stains (pics).
 
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The Little Engine That Could is an American folktale that became widely known in the United States after publication in 1930 by Platt & Munk. The story is used to teach children the value of optimism and hard work. Based on a 2007 online poll, the National Education Association listed the book as one of its "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children".
 
In the tale, a long train must be pulled over a high mountain after its locomotive breaks down. Larger locomotives are asked to pull the train; for various reasons they refuse. The request is sent to a small engine, who agrees to try. The engine succeeds in pulling the train over the mountain while repeating the motto: "I-think-I-can".
 
In the story the little engine is, in fact, a female engine. In an interview with NPR, paleontology professor Roy Plotnick confirmed that the original blue engine was not only a girl, but an early feminist hero.  The rest of the engines who decline to help the train stuck on the other side of the mountain, are portrayed as males. While the gender of the trains may not mean much to children as they read, to adults, it definitely stands out. Especially considering the book was originally published in 1930.