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Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel Hardcover – September 9, 1939

by
Virginia Lee Burton (Author)
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Virginia Lee Burton (Author)
4.7 out of 5 stars 390 customer reviews
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Hardcover, September 9, 1939
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Product Details

  • Age Range: 4 - 7 years
  • Grade Level: Preschool - 3
  • Hardcover: 56 pages
  • Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers (September 9, 1939)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0395169615
  • ISBN-13: 978-0395169612
  • Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 9.4 x 0.4 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (390 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #333,411 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 starsThe Board Book took out the plot
By D. Moulton on May 6, 2007
Format: Board book
I hate to give this such a low rating, but before you buy the board book edition you need to know that it isn't just shortened, but the whole plot is gone.

Yes Henry B Swap is mentioned, but no mention of a challenge to dig the cellar in one day, or he won't get paid.

No sun high in the sky and being halfway done.

No Henry B Swap saying that since the steam shovel can't get out they don't get paid.

No ending where Henry B. Swap sits in the cellar and smiles in a way that's not mean at all.

If you want the great story, DON'T BUY THE BOARD BOOK!
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5.0 out of 5 starsMulligan an all time classic.
By James Totton on August 1, 2000
Format: Hardcover
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!
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5.0 out of 5 starsHow I dreaded those nights............
By Nana Annie on August 3, 2000
Format: Hardcover
Yes, its true -- I dreaded the nights (night after night after night) when one of my sons would insist we read this book! Why? Because it's long, and detailed -- good for the child, terrible for a weary parent. My boys memorized the story, and if I ever tried to skip a page, I was found out and the missing page was revisited.
This book is a great gift to give to any child who is enthralled with heavy machinery, but there's more to it than that. At the time the story is written (1939) Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne, his steam shovel, are becoming outdated. They used to be busy in the big city, making basements for big buildings. But as always happens, something better - faster, more efficient gas, electric and Diesel shovels - is replacing them.
Mike Mulligan knows they still have value. He's always told people that Mary Anne could dig as much in a day as a hundred men could dig in a week, though he's never been quite sure this is true.
To find work, he ventures into the country to the town of Popperville, where a new Town Hall is being built. Mike promises to build the cellar in just one day ("What!" said Henry B. Swap. "Dig a cellar in just one day! It would take a hundred men at least a week to dig the cellar for our new town hall." ) Henry and the townpeople are swayed when Mike promises that "If we can't do it, you won't have to pay."
The citizens of Bangerville and Bopperville, Kipperville and Kopperville plus all the people from Popperville come out to watch Mike and Mary Anne work hard under the hot sun. They finish the job as the sun sets, just in the nick of time.
One small boy has been watching them, and he asks a really good question - "How are they going to get out?Read more ›
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4.0 out of 5 starsGirl (steam) power
By betty jones on July 2, 2002
Format: Hardcover
Well, contrary to Susan McGee's opinion, this book is great for girls and about girls. The gender-oriented language of "policeMEN", "fireMEN", etc is not straight out of the 1950's, it is in fact straight out of 1939 when the book was initially published. And in your obsessive noticing of all the "weak" women in the book, you overlooked MaryAnn- the heroine! Better than 100 men, SHE could dig a cellar in JUST ONE DAY!
I'm not overly crazy about this book. As one reviewer said, the detail is occasionally tedious for parents, but my kids love it and are riveted as the sun rises in the sky. That makes the book a winner for us. Not to mention that I like the message of not giving up on something/ someone just because something newer comes along. And my daughter loves it just as much as my son.
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1.0 out of 5 starsA ripoff for kids
By Fran Galt on February 23, 2012
Format: Board book
The original is a great book by one of the foremost writer/illustrator/designers of children's books. When I went to stay with my three-month old grandson, I was delighted that my daughter had provided him with a board-book edition, but when I started to read it to him, I was appalled at the omissions of plot, language, and character. I checked the copyright statement and found no acknowledgment of this abridgement. I think that any copyright holder who attempts to pass off an abridgement as the original should be stripped of the copyright.
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5.0 out of 5 starsA Winner Never Quits!
By Wendy Kaplan on May 18, 2002
Format: Paperback
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.
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