Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel

Burton, Virginia Lee. Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1939, 1967.

I was first introduced to Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel as a young child watching Captain Kangaroo. Since becoming a librarian it has made its way on to my list of favorites that I share at the end of each school year. Because it was a book written for its time period, it has become an historically accurate historical picture book. Virginia Lee Burton both wrote the story and drew the pictures so they complement each other well.

Mike Mulligan and his steam shovel named Mary Anne face the end of the steam shovel era. Because he has taken good care of her, Mary Anne is still in great shape and able to “dig as much in a day as a hundred men could dig in a week.” Mike has never put that to the test. When he hears of a community building a new town hall, Mike promises just that for the digging of the basement – or the town doesn’t have to pay him. Mary Anne digs so well that they meet the deadline other than the fact that they forget to leave a way out of the basement. Mary Anne becomes the furnace for the new town hall and Mike becomes the janitor.

There is so much historical detail in this book that it could easily be used with older students to teach some details of the early 1900’s. Kids who love machinery will probably love this book. Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel 75th Anniversary is available from Amazon. Thanks for using my affiliate link which helps support this children’s literature blog.