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Mr. Small has a shiny red auto. On nice days, Mr. Small takes his car out of the garage and goes for a drive. He can drive fast enough to pass a horse and buggy! He runs into trouble when it begins to rain and he gets a flat tire. But he is able to fix the tire, the sun comes out, and Mr. Small drives his little auto back into the garage..
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Member Reviews
This endearing yet simple story book written by the talented Lois Lenski features her signature illustrations and tells the tale of Mr. Small and his pride and joy, the little auto. Written in 1934 this book follows Mr. Small in his jaunty suit, bow tie and derby hat as he cruises around town in his shiny red convertible. The other traffic on the road includes a horse and buggy, a trolley car, and some startled chickens and ducks. We tool along down Main Street with Mr. Small, put the top up when it rains, fix a flat tire, and pay a visit to the filling station. Mr. Small and his little auto are utterly charming and the way this book captures the gentle atmosphere of a bygone day warms the heart. Kids will love it and so will the folks show more who read to them. Lois Lenski's picture books are never long on plot or action, but they are delightfully colorful and whimsical. Her books, no matter their publication date, seem to capture human nature that runs true throughout the stream of time. Look what she says about a man and his car. "Mr. Small has a little Auto. It is red and shiny. He likes to look at it." Travel around your own town on a sunny Saturday morning...you'll see Mr. Small is alive and well. Enjoy this book and all of Lois Lenski's other charmers. show less
Cute. We got an older edition of this book out of the library. The 1930s illustrations are appealing.
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Author Information

133+ Works 15,333 Members
Lois Lenski was born in Springfield, Ohio on October 14, 1893. After graduating from Ohio State University, she moved to New York to study art. She continued her studies in London, England and illustrate children's books written by others. She returned to the United States in 1921 and became an author and illustrator. In 1927, she published two show more books about her own childhood entitled Skipping Village and A Little Girl of 1900. She wrote nearly 100 books for children and young adults during her lifetime including the Mr. Small series, Bayou Suzette, Prairie School, Boomtown Boy, Judy's Journey, and High-Rise Secret. She received a Newbery Medal in 1946 for Strawberry Girl. She died on September 11, 1974 at the age of 80. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Work Relationships
Is contained in
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Little Auto
- Original publication date
- 1934
- People/Characters
- Mr Small
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 149
- Popularity
- 220,270
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.94)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 6
- ASINs
- 9

































































