In 1954, the book The Little Engine that Could was published. Its message was that if the little engine only believed in itself (by repeating “I think I can; I think I can”), then it could accomplish its task of bring toys over a big hill. Search online for and read the Shel Silverstein poem “The Little Blue Engine,” which is a reaction to the book. What are your thoughts about allowing children to read poems like this? Should children only read stories and poems that have a moral lesson? Do you think this poem has a moral lesson?
