From Bob McKinnon comes this modern retelling of the beloved classic, Little Engine that Could, that asks young readers, “How does your journey differ from others?” It also serves as a thank you letter to all the parents, teachers, role models, and even strangers, who help to clear the storm or pull the tree trunk from their track.
Available in your favorite bookstores.
Have you ever asked yourself this question? Or wondered why your life turned differently than you expected or from others you know. On this site, you’ll find tools, writing and podcast episodes that explores this question and others. Watch Bob’s TEDx talk to learn about his journey and the science behind how we see our lives and those of others.
Children’s Books
I think I can, I think I can, I think I… can’t? What’s an Engine to do when even believing in yourself won’t get you to the top of the mountain? In this modern retelling of the beloved The Little Engine That Could, The Little Blue Engine and her friends attempt to reach the town on the other side of the mountain, but they quickly realize that not every engine is on the same track, and they all face different obstacles in their journey. In Three Little Engines author Bob McKinnon asks young readers: How does your journey differ from others?
While paying homage to the beloved classic, author Bob McKinnon acknowledges that although positive thinking and confidence are important, they are not always enough to help you succeed. In many instances, success requires a helping hand. This book is a gentle introduction to the idea of socioeconomic mobility and inequality in America. Heavily inspired by his own experiences, McKinnon teaches the youngest of readers how to recognize opportunity and inequality in the American Dream, and, most importantly, how to extend a helping hand to those on different tracks of life. At its heart, Three Little Engines is a thank you letter to all the parents, teachers, role models, and even strangers, who help to clear the storm or pull the tree trunk from your track.
Three Little Engines is now a New York Times best seller! Order your copy today from your favorite online bookseller or your local bookstore:
What is Your American Dream Score
Newsletter
Proud
Within twenty-four hours, each of my daughters took a small action that left me filled with pride.
One daughter – with a minute left in her lacrosse game – came sprinting across the length and width of the field to stop an attacker from scoring. The determination and effort was particularly noteworthy given the score. Her team was losing by ten goals.
Another daughter – with just a few months left before graduation and her college admission secured – stayed up past 1:00AM that same night completing several assignments including a video project on the Spanish Flu’s impact on World War I. She resisted the temptation to use ChatGPT to complete any of the work as she suspected several classmates had done. Saying she wanted to complete high school the right way – with integrity.
My third daughter – rushing to get ready for school on the opening day of her school’s play – put her nerves aside when I knocked on the bathroom door before running off to catch my train. Saying, “Can you hold on until I get dressed, so I can give you a hug goodbye?”
Proud is from the Latin term “prodesse,” meaning “to be of value.”
The definition of “proud” has evolved somewhat to “feeling deep pleasure or satisfaction as a result of one’s own achievements, qualities, or possessions or those of someone with whom one is closely associated.”
Increasingly as a society we seem to place more value on pride associated with achievement or possessions, while the pride brimming from our qualities is relegated to the background.
Three small actions by my daughters displayed qualities of determination, integrity and kindness that trump whatever was on a scoreboard, a report card or a stage.
If it seems like I’m just bragging about my kids or virtue signaling, perhaps I am. But I’m also hoping to spark a conversation about where we place our pride and what stories we choose to share about it.
A society that places too much pride in the accomplishments and possessions in our children, ourselves and others perpetuates the pursuit of them – often to the detriment to the qualities that in our heart of hearts we value more.
It is perhaps how we end up with people who believe the ends justify the means or why we treat others as less than if their accomplishments or possessions are themselves less than others.
I, myself, have done all I suggest above. Actions that once bred pride, I now look back upon with some level of embarrassment given the focus of my pursuits. Many of which I did in an attempt to make my own mother proud.
As a parent myself, I can now see that she too was always less concerned with what I accomplished or my possessions gained and more about my qualities and how they manifest in the world around me.
To that end, I hope she still feels that same type of pride in me as I do in my daughters.
Recommendation of the Week: Check out the new movie, Project Hail Mary. Despite an existentially harrowing context, it shows what we are capable of when we mix humility, humanity, humor, sacrifice and some good science.
Share this with someone and tell them you’re proud of a specific quality of theirs that was on display this week.
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Monday Morning Notes
Delivered to your mailbox each Monday morning, these short notes offer an opportunity each week to reflect on who and what contributes to where we end up in life. Readers tell us it’s a great way to start their week on a positive note. See the latest note below:
Proud
Within twenty-four hours, each of my daughters took a small action that left me filled with pride. One daughter – with a minute left in her lacrosse game – came sprinting across the length and width of the field to stop an attacker from scoring. The determination and effort was particularly noteworthy given the score. …
Attribution with Bob McKinnon
Attribution is a podcast, where people from all walks of life, reflect on who and what has contributed to where they ended up. Our hope is after each episode, you feel a little more inspired, grateful, or supported, then when you first hit play. Check out the latest episode below:
Episode 35: Class Matters w/ Richard Kahlenberg
Richard D. Kahlenberg is an education and housing policy researcher, writer, consultant, and speaker. He is also Director of Housing Policy and Director of the American Identity Project at the Progressive Policy Institute. The author or editor of 19 books, his latest is Class Matters: The Fight to Get Beyond Race Preferences, Reduce Inequality, and Build Real Diversity at America’s Colleges. This was a deep and challenging conversation about class, race, higher education, affirmative action and social mobility.