Last night, I read The Little Engine That Could to my two-year-old daughter, and I wondered: Would this spectacular story (about a determined engine who overcomes all odds to save the day) even find a publisher today?

Strike one: The Little Engine is female. If this book were published now, the marketing department would consider it “just for girls.” Everyone knows that boys won’t listen to stories about female heroes. Parents can’t do a thing about it, either. Boys are just born that way. Girls, on the other hand, don’t mind if bedtime stories (or Hollywood movies) don’t include them at all. Go figure.

Strike two: The Little Engine is a train. Everyone knows it’s boys who like trains. Even girls won’t be interested in this story.

Need further proof that The Little Engine That Could was written by a radical lesbian who refers to parents as “breeders”? Here you go. Strike three: The Little Engine is blue. Blue. How subversive can you get?

Reel Girl rates The Little Engine That Could ***GGG*** for triple girlpower. If you don’t own this timeless classic, proceed immediately to the bookstore and buy it for your son or daughter today. If it’s on your bookshelf, read it to the family tonight.