To create a craft relevant to the story, children must first listen to the story and understand its meaning. Ask children to gather around you and read the book slowly and clearly. You can find a version of the story at "Children's Books Online." Most children's books feature pictures of the story's main characters, so show the pictures to children to help them visualize the story.
This is a collaborative craft, which means that teams have to work as a team and not individually. Ask children to talk to each other and decide which part of the train each one will be responsible for. For example, only one student can make the little engine, while others can build the train cars or the unwilling-to-help larger engines. Give each student a shoe box for this craft, along with a pair of scissors, construction paper, paper glue and coloring pens.
Allow children to check the book's pictures regularly when creating their engine or car. Clarify beforehand that engines are anthropomorphous -- featuring human characteristics, like eyes and mouth -- while train cars are not. However, children making cars have to find at least one toy to place in their car, as in the story, the train was full of toys for children living on the other side of the mountain.
When all students are done making their respective engine or car, they must put the shoe boxes in order to create the train. The little engine must lead the train, with all toy cars forming a line behind it. The unwilling larger engines must be placed far away from the train. When the little train was pulling the cars, he repeatedly said "I think I can," as a method of staying determined to his goal. Preschoolers cannot write yet, so ask them to say aloud what they think they can achieve such as "I think I can find a treasure" or "I think I can catch a butterfly."