General fiction

The Little Red Caboose

by Marian Potter

24 pages · First published 1953

A little red caboose always comes last in the freight train and envies the powerful engine and exciting cars ahead of him. Children wave at the front of the train but often lose interest before the caboose arrives, deepening his sense that his position does not matter. A crisis on a steep hill gives the caboose an unexpected opportunity to prove how essential the last car can be. Marian Potter’s classic Little Golden Book uses a simple train adventure to reassure young readers that an overlooked role may still be important.