How long does it take to read The Little Engine That Could?
Watty Piper
The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper takes about 44 minutes to read at 250 words a minute.
About 44 minutes
An evening's read
First published 1976. 40 pages, about 11,000 words. Written for children.
2 days at 30 minutes a day
Estimate based on 275 words per page.
At other speeds
| Slow, 150 words a minute | 1 hour 13 minutes |
| Average, 250 words a minute | 44 minutes |
| Fast, 400 words a minute | 28 minutes |
The page count is the median across 57 editions, so your copy may differ. How we calculate.
About the book
The Little Engine That Could is a children's story about a long train that has to cross a high mountain after its own locomotive breaks down. Several bigger engines are asked to haul it, but each one declines, some because they consider themselves too important and one because he is too old. The call for help then reaches a small engine, who agrees to take on the job. The tale is meant to teach young readers about optimism and hard work, and it is closely identified with the repeated phrase "I think I can."
This summary was written by AI and checked by a second AI model. How these are chosen.
Subjects: engine, Trains, Locomotives, Juvenile fiction, Toys, Railroads
