Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel (Sandpiper Books)

by Virginia Lee Burton

Book Overview

Mike and his trusty steam shovel, Mary Anne, dig deep canals for boats to travel through, cut mountain passes for trains, and hollow out cellars for city skyscrapers--the very symbol of industrial... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0395259398
• Release Date: October 1977
• Publisher: Clarion Books
• Length: 48 Pages
• Weight: 0.43 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.1" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

A classic

We loved this book growing up and now read it to our son

When a steam shovel had a problem,

This steam-shovel had a big problem. How he solved it is brilliant and a good example for our kids,

Not fully as advertised

Got the book for my grandchildren. But there was no link or anything for the advertised audio book.

Mulligan Steamshovel

Love the book. But, a downloadable audio was NOT included. I read this to my baby son, 54 years ago. Now will read to our great grandkids.

A Winner Never Quits!

Oh how wonderful this book is, in so many different ways. Written in the 40s, its illustrations hark back to an earlier era, when children were allowed to be children, and when the values we taught them were couched in terms that a child could understand. Instead of violence and video games.Mike Mulligan and his faithful steam shovel Mary Ann have been "downsized," if you will, by the advent of gasoline-powered engines, and other "modern miracles" that have made poor, faithful Mary Ann obsolete overnight. In order to find work, Mike and Mary Ann travel over hill and dale until they come to the small town of Popperville. There, they find that the town mayor is taking bids to dig the basement for a brand-new skyscraper. Mike makes a bid, and is met with laughter. But instead of giving up...INSTEAD OF GIVING UP...he makes a deal. He and Mary Ann will dig the basement in one day. If they don't make it, they won't accept payment.The valiant steamshovel and the equally valiant Mike set off to prove to the world that they are not obsolete, not worthless...just because they are old, just because they are now different, they still have value! And they dig, and they dig, and they dig. And soon they have attracted a large audience, all of whom are pulling for the team to win, even though it seems impossible.In the end, Mike and Mary Ann have prevailed. They have dug the basement in one day! But just when they are being celebrated as heroes, a terrible problem arises. Mary Ann cannot get back out of the hole. What is to happen? Was it all for nothing?The ingenious solution to the problem, and the sheer joy of the solution, warms my heart as much today as it ever did. This is a wonderful way of teaching children to persevere, to glory in their "otherness" and to grab life with both hands. It is a treasure, a classic becaue it deserves to be.

A wonderful book!

They just don't make 'em like they used to!A couple of years ago, my parents inquired as to what sort of books they could purchase for my children. "Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel" was at the top of the list. This book takes a child back to when steam engines were the power literally running the country -- and that the march of progress is not without its pain. It is an exciting book, well and colorfully illustrated with a wonderful "twist" at the end -- in which a small boy is proven to be brighter than all the adults in town -- because of his childlike perspective.The politically correct will no doubt object to Mike Mulligan's pipe -- but I certainly don't! (Nor do my children!)If you have children or grandchildren who have not been introduced to this book, buy it today!

Mulligan an all time classic.

When I was growing up, I don't think there was any story I requested more than Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel.I have fond memories of my grandfather reading it to me again and again.The easy to remember and recite text, and the early 40s middle America drawings combine to create an evocative time piece.I believe this is one book that will cut past the computer generated entertainment for today's youngsters, and prove to be a classic in generations to come.If parents don't buy this for their kids, then I hope they'll buy it for themselves.Great ending too!

Henry B. Swap learns a lesson

Few of us have ever seen a steam shovel in action, even we who had this great story read to us the first time around, back in '39. The diesel shovel digging out the neighbor's cellar down the street just didn't have the personality of Mary Anne and the operators didn't seem to have the determination of Mike Mulligan, though they always left a cellar ramp clear so they could get out when they were done. But the tension in this story builds as the sun gets high in the sky and goes down so fast, as the dirt flies, the townfolks cheer and the job gets done only to have Henry B. Swap smile in his "rather mean way" when it is discovered that no exit was dug for Mary Anne to get out of the hole. Then "the little boy," who might have been me, or might have been my daughter when I read the story to her, or my grandson when I read the story to him, comes up with the idea that makes Ol' Henry B. Swap "smile in a way that wasn't quite so mean." And finally, in semi-retirement, Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne don't have to compete any longer with the new-fangled machines and Henry B. Swap is there, "smiling in a way that isn't mean at all." There in Poppervile they have the contentment in aging that is worth dreaming about.One of the Great Books!