>> From the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. >> Good morning. I am Carla at Library of Congress and I want to welcome you to this very special story time at the library. I love reading, don't you? It is so much fun to let our imaginations run wild. We are excited and have teamed up with Ms. Ms. Dolly Parton's Imagination Library to introduce you to some wonderful authors who will share their stories with us. This partnership works through her imagination Library and it is awe-inspiring. She and her team have given away over 100 million books to help encourage young readers to read across the world. Here at the Library of Congress we share that passion for developing young readers and we know that the best way to encourage people like you to read is to make reading fun so that is what we will do. I hope you enjoy today's story time. Even more, I hope you keep reading at home and having fun. Today we will warm up by singing some songs, touching your toes, and then get comfortable and get ready to here stories. Now let's get started! Good morning! Good morning and welcome to the library of congress' fifth imagination story time coming to you from the beautiful pavilion and today we have a special guest. My name is Caroline and I come from the young reader's center and today we are welcoming Melissa from the music division who is going to read and play her flute. Melissa Wertheimer, I should say her last name. So we are going to start with our good morning song, our hello, friends. We are going to sing and sign to the tune of good night ladies. So the sign for hello is the salute, just a little salute and the sign for friends is you take your two index fingers and you hug them one way and then the other way, and the some for time is do you tap your imaginary watch and the sign for to say is you touch your mouth. Okay? So hello, friends. Hello, friends three times. It is time to say hello. Hello, friend, hello, friend, hello, friend, it's time to say hello. Good job. [Applause] All right so since we are going to be reading about trains I thought we should start off with a little song that everybody knows -- down by the station, down by the station early in the morning, see the little puffer bellies all in a row. See the little engine driver pull the little lever, puff, puff, toot, toot, here we go. What is a puffer belly? The designers called it puffing Billy because all of the steam it created. So here we go -- down by the station, early in the morning See the little puffer bellies all in a row See the engine driver pull the little lever Puff, puff, toot, toot, off we go Down by the station, early in the morning, see the little puffer bellies all in a row See the engine driver pulled a little lever, Puff, puff, toot, toot, off we go! [Applause] So now we are going to do a little action rhyme and we are going to make our arms into the wheels that go chugging down the tracks. Can you get your arms bent? And then we are going to move them in a circle. Okay. This is choo-choo train. Here is a little choo-choo train puffing down the tracks, now now it is, leaned forward, and now it is going back. Leaned back. Now the bell is ringing, ding, ding, now the whistle blows, toot, toot. What a lot of noise it makes (Cover your ears) Everywhere it goes. One more time. Here is a little choo-choo train coming down the tracks. Now it is going forward, and now it is going back. Now the bell is ringing, ding, ding Now the whistle blows, toot, toot What a lot of noise it makes everywhere it goes! (Applause) Good job! So miss Melissa is going to read the classic 19 book by Waddy Piper and illustrated by Gerald and Anne Houseman called what do you think -- the little engine that could. Our theme today is called persistence or perseverance. What does that mean? It means sticking with something no matter how hard it gets and not giving us -- okay? The little engine that could. » : Good morning, everybody. I have a special job for everybody out here. Your job is when ever hear the sound, toot, toot, do you hear that sound? Your job is to make the train go. We have to do our action from our action rhyme. And we try that one more time? This is the sound and you have to make the train go. Toot, toot. So this is the little engine that could. Toot, toot The little train rumbled over the tracks. She was a happy little train because she had such a jolly load to carry Her cars were filled full of good things for boys and girls There were toy animals, giraffes with long necks. There were teddy bears with almost no necks at all and even a baby elephant. Everybody be an elephant. We have a baby elephant on the train. And then there were dolls, dolls with blue eyes and yellow curls. Dolls with brown eyes and brown bobbed heads and the funniest toy clown you ever saw And there were cars full of toy engines and airplanes, tops, Jack Nieves, picture puzzles, books, and every kind of thing a boy or girl could want. But that was not all -- some of the cars were filled with all sorts of good things for boys and girls to eat Big gold oranges and red-cheek apples, bottles of creamy milk for their breakfast, fresh spinach for their dinners, and lollipops for after dinner treats The little train was carrying all of these wonderful things to the good little boys and girls on the other side of the mountain. She puffed along merrily -- toot, toot And then all of a sudden she stopped with a jerk. She simply could not go another inch. She tried and she tried toot, toot, but her wheels would not turn What were all of those good little boys and girls on the other side of the mountain going to do with the wonderful toys to play with and the good food to eat? Here comes a shiny new engine -- toot, toot toot -- said the funny little clown that jumped out of the train. Let us ask him to help us. So all of the dolls and toys cried out together, "Please, shiny new engine, won't you please pull our train over the mountain? Our engine has broken down and the boys and girls on the other side won't have any toys to play with or good food to eat unless you help us! But the shiny new engine snorted. "I pull you? I am a passenger engine. I have just carried a fine, big train over the mountain with more cars then you ever dreamed of! My train has sleeping cars with comfortable births, a dining car where waiters brings whatever hungry people want to eat and parlor cars in which people sit and big soft tears and looked out of place windows. I pulled the likes of you? Indeed not! " And off he seemed to the Roundhouse where engines live when they are not busy Toot, toot House sad the little train and toys all felt. Then the little clown called out, "The passenger engine is not the only one in the world. Here is another engine coming, a great big, strong one. Let us ask him to help us! " Toot, toot The little toy clown waved his flag and the big strong engine came to a stop. "Please, oh, please big engine, cried all the dolls and toys together, won't you please pull our train over the mountain? Are engine has broken down and the good little boys and girls on the other side won't have any toys to play with or good food to eat unless you help us. "But the big strong engine bellowed, "I am a freight train. I had just pulled a big train loaded with big machines over the mountains. These machines print books and newspapers for grown-ups to read. I am a very important engine indeed. I won't pull the likes of you." And the freight train puffed off indignantly to the Roundhouse Toot, toot . Toot, toot. Toot, toot The little trains and all of the dolls was very, very sad. And now that we are all sad and we feel defeated, let's take a little break for a happy song it is called the railroad waltz and it is a dance. And railroads are special because we count to three. In everybody count to three? 123 123 all right. If you would like to dance, here is a railroad waltz. We will get happy a little bit because that way we will not be so sad (Flute playing) (Applause) >> Beautiful. Does everybody feel a little happier? I hope so. So now we get back to our story where the little train and all of the dolls were very sad. "Cheer up, cried the little toy clown, this right engine is not the only one in the world. Here comes another." Toot, toot. Toot, toot He looked very old and tired, but our train is so little. So perhaps he can help us. So the little toy clown waved his flag and the rusty old engine stopped . "Please, kind engine, cried all of the dolls and toys together, won't you please pull our train over the mountain? Our engine has broken down and the boys and girls on the other side won't have any toys to play with or good food to eat unless you help us. " But the rusty old engine side, "I am so tired, I must rest my weary wheels. I cannot pull even so little A-Train as yours over the mountain. I cannot. I cannot. I cannot. " And off he rumbled to the Roundhouse, chugging. Toot, toot. Toot, toot. Toot, toot I cannot. I cannot. I cannot. Then indeed the little train was very sad and the dolls and toys were ready to cry. But the little clown called out, "Here's another engine coming, a little blue engine, a very little one but maybe she will help us. " Toot, toot. Toot, toot. Toot, toot The very little engine came chug, chug, chugging merrily along when she saw the toy clown's flag, she stopped quickly. "What is the matter, my friends, she asked kindly. " "A little blue engine, cried the dolls and toys, will you pull us over the mountain? Our engine has broken down and the good boys and girls on the other side won't have any toys to play with or good food to eat unless you help us. Please, please help us, little blue engine. " "I am not very big, said the little blue engine. They use me only for certain trains in the yard. I have never been over the mountain. " "But we must get over the mountain before the children awake, said all of the dolls and toys." And the very little engine looked up and she saw the tears in the dolls' eyes and she thought of the good little boys and girls on the other side of the mountain who would not have any toys or good food unless she helped. Then she said, ""I Think I Can.... I Think I Can....I Think I Can and she hitched herself to the little train. She chugged and she pulled and pulled and tugged, and slowly, slowly they started off. (Chugging, chugging) The toy clown jumped aboard and all of the dolls and toy animals begin to smile and cheer (Chugging, chugging) Toot, toot Ding, ding when the little blue engine, ""I Think I Can....I Think I Can....I Think I Can I Think I Can....I Think I Can....I Think I Can I Think I Can....I Think I Can....I Think I Can. " Up, up, up, faster, and faster and faster the little engine climbed until at last, they reached the top of the mountain. Down in the valley lay the city. " Hooray! " Hooray!, cried the funny little clown and all the dolls and toys. The good little boys and girls in the city will be happy because you helped us, kind little blue engine. And the little blue engine smiled and seemed to say as she puffed steadily down the mountain -- (Chugging, chugging) chugging). Toot, toot. Toot, toot. Toot, toot. Toot, toot (Chugging, chugging). Toot, toot. Toot, toot I thought I could, I thought I could, I thought I could, I thought I could. The end. (Applause) How fabulous! » : Thank you Ms. Melissa. Okay. So let's do an old classic, "I have been working on the railroad. " We have been working on the railroad, right? So she is going to give us our key (Flute playing) I had been working on the railroad, all the live day I have been working on the railroad, just to pass the time away Can you hear the whistle blowing, rise up so early in the morn. Can't you hear the captain shouting, Dinah blow your horn. Dinah, won't you blow, Dinah, won't you blow, oh, Dinah, won't you blow your horn? Dinah, won't you blow, Dinah, won't you blow, oh, Dinah, won't you blow your horn Someone is in the kitchen with Dinah Someone is in the kitchen I know Is someone is in the kitchen with Dinah, Stremming on the old banjo Fee-fi-fiddly-eye-oh Fee-fi-fiddly-eye-oh Fee-fi-fiddly-eye-oh Strumming on the old banjo. (Applause) Wonderful! Great singing! All right, so we have come to the and of our livestream. Let's sing our goodbye song, which is the opposite of the hello, song. So we are going to wave goodbye, friends, waved goodbye to friends It is time to say goodbye Goodbye, friends Goodbye, friends Goodbye friends, it is time to say goodbye. See you next month. (Applause) >> This has been a presentation of the Library of Congress. Visit us at LOC.gov.