Marian Potter (1915–1996)

The Little Red Caboose makes "his" journey over the mountain and around the countryside. The little red caboose is at the end of the train but has a function to fulfill. Otherwise, there's no real plot here -- just scenes of the countryside that the train is going through. Don't mix this one up with "The Little Engine That Could!", although nominally they are both about trains that come through in a crisis.[return][return]Many crowd scenes of people -- almost all of white people; then one show more scene of Native Americans in traditional dress -- teepees, etc. So, portrayal of race and ethnicity leaves out whole groups of peoples and portrays white and Native peoples in stereotyped ways. Definitely something to discuss if you read this to a little kid. [return][return]Gender isn't as bad, and is better than other contemporaneous books. There's no reason for the little red caboose to be male, but in the picture of mountain climbers there's a woman, and women / girls are shown throughout all the places that boys are. show less

“THE LITTLE RED Caboose” follows the story of the little red caboose as he compares himself to the other train cars, and wishes he was like them. This book explores the themes of comparing to others, wishing you looked different, and has the overall message of believing in and accepting yourself.

“THE LITTLE RED Caboose” is classified as a picture book, as it uses illustrations to enhance the book's themes, and relate the pictures back to the text on each page. The literary elements show more mostly consisted of short easy-to-read sentences, as well as the use of onomatopoeias on some of the book's pages. The little red caboose’s character development was something that was focused on greatly throughout the book. Readers first saw how the little red caboose was discouraged as he didn't get as much attention as the other train cars did, and began to wish he looked different at the beginning of the book. By the end of the book the little red caboose was able to believe in himself after the other train cars praised him for saving the day.

I believe that the main lesson that can be learned from this book is to always believe in yourself. I think that this book could be a good way to teach young readers this lesson, while also allowing them to practice their reading! I personally loved this book when I was younger, as it allowed me to not only practice my reading, but also learn the lesson of believing in myself! show less

The Little Red Caboose makes "his" journey over the mountain and around the countryside. The little red caboose is at the end of the train but has a function to fulfill. Otherwise, there's no real plot here -- just scenes of the countryside that the train is going through. Don't mix this one up with "The Little Engine That Could!", although nominally they are both about trains that come through in a crisis.

Many crowd scenes of people -- almost all of white people; then one scene of Native show more Americans in traditional dress -- teepees, etc. So, portrayal of race and ethnicity leaves out whole groups of peoples and portrays white and Native peoples in stereotyped ways. Definitely something to discuss if you read this to a little kid.

Gender isn't as bad, and is better than other contemporaneous books. There's no reason for the little red caboose to be male, but in the picture of mountain climbers there's a woman, and women / girls are shown throughout all the places that boys are. show less

Genre: Fantasy
Age Appropriateness: Primary
Review: This picture book is a great example of fantasy. The caboose has feelings and thinks like a person. It also acts independently and saves the train, showing heroics and bravery. It is a fun story that also includes children and hopefully the children will be able to understand the simple theme of not being underestimated just cause you are small.

Media: Mixed media