Little Blacknose: The Story of a Pioneer by Hildegarde Swift (published 1929) is a story for a young child about the creation of the first steam locomotive in New York State. The steam locomotive, eventually called the DeWitt Clinton Steam Engine, ran between Albany and Schenectady beginning in 1831. (Although that’s less than 20 miles, it took an hour and a three-quarters to run the route!)
In the story, the young engine delights as he is created, transferred to his track, and finally gets to toot along for the first time. Although a narrator tells the story, it is all from Blacknose’s perspective. Childish refrains and silly rhymes accompany the narration of his thoughts and the words of others in the book, as Blacknose learns about his purpose. He likes to be useful. In the book, after a few years of use, other trains took his place. First Blacknose gets to beat the horses in speed, but then he becomes replaced by bigger and stronger engines too. In this book, Blacknose sat in an attic until he was taken to the World’s Fair. Eventually Blacknose found a home in a museum.
The author reiterates that this is a true story about the actual DeWitt Clinton Steam Engine, but Wikipedia states that the original train was scrapped in 1833, just two years after its creation. A replica went to the World’s Fair, and that replica is now at the Henry Ford Museum. Beyond that, the book simply feels ridiculous. The tone of writing is very immature; I immediately felt like I must be a four-year-old child, simply with how the author addressed me and how Blacknose was speaking.
Although it may have been worthy of the Newbery Honor award in 1930, there is very little to recommend it to readers today. It is a glimpse into the history of a tiny, early locomotive engine, but as a story it is not incredibly enjoyable, and the writing is definitely stilted and childish.
