“Watty Piper,” the book’s author, is actually the pen name for publisher Arnold Munk, owner of Platt & Munk, who published The Little Engine That Could. He also handpicked Lois Lenski to illustrate the 1930 edition. It’s unknown if he later chose the Haumans in 1954 to interpret the story in their style, but he was editor at Platt & Munk until his death in 1957.