Thursday, March 10, 2011

Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel


Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel (c. 1939) by Virginia Lee Burton remains a must read for every child.  And you mothers who have requested titles to give your sons -- wrap this one up for his next birthday!  Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel is a book that little boys hang on to until they become big boys, and the big boys read it to their offspring, feasting on the memories it evokes.  If you don't believe me, ask your husband, dad, brothers, uncles, brother-in-laws, etc.  It's a timeless "keeper" that you'll be returning to again and again.  And so our story begins:

Mike Mulligan had a steam shovel,
    a beautiful red steam shovel.
       Her name was Mary Anne.
          Mike Mulligan was very proud of Mary Anne.
              He always said that she could dig as much in a day
                 as a hundred men could dig in a week,
                   but he had never been quite sure 
                      that this was true.

Introduce your children to Mike Mulligan, Mary Anne, the townspeople of Popperville, that winning, ingenious "little boy" of Popperville, and keep this book for generations to come!

More books by Virginia Lee Burton (click on image to read recommendation):

3 comments:

  1. Thank you for stopping by my blog and saying hello, it's always lovely to 'see' new faces x

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  2. Another lovely childhood classic. It was difficult to find classic books tailored for boys, but this one fit the bill. XOL

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  3. Yes, right on, Emily. We had a 3 year old boy over to house today and he grabbed both books and came running to his mom with excitement for her to read them both. My kids (boy and girl) like these a lot.

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