Mike Mulligan And His Steam Shovel

Time to rewind to an oldie, but a goody!  Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton was first published in 1939.  It is one of those rare books that has stood the test of time.  It is just as popular today as it was seventy years ago!  Young children (especially boys who like tractors and large machines) love this book!

Mike Mulligan and his steam shovel, Mary Anne work together for years cutting through mountains and building skyscrapers.  One day their services are no longer needed because of new and faster technology.  However, Mike and Mary Anne do not give up!  They leave the city and head to the country to try and complete a job in one day that would take 100 men an entire week to complete!  Will they be able to complete the task?  You will have to read the book to find out!

This is a great story for making text-to-self connections.  There are several places where you and your child can relate to what Mike and Mary Anne are experiencing with something that has happened in your own life!   This story also is great for making predictions (guesses) about what is going to happen next.  An inference is really just a prediction based on clues from the text that are merged with the reader's background knowledge.   

1.  Read to the end of page 11.  Mike and Mary Anne provide an important service to the community.  What are a few jobs Mike and Mary Anne do that are helpful?

2.  Read to the end of page 13.  Mike and Mary Anne work faster and better when people watch them.  Can you think of a time when someone watched you work and you did a better job?  


3.  Read to the end of page 14.   How do you think Mike and Mary Anne feel when they no longer have any jobs?


4.  Read to the end of page 20.    Henry B. Swap does not think Mike and Mary Anne can dig the cellar in a day.  What do you think?   


5.  Read to the end of page 26.  What do you think now?  Has your thinking changed?


6.  Read to the end of page 35.  How do you think Mike and Mary Anne feel?  Do you remember a time you felt proud of yourself for completing a really hard task?


7. Read to the end of page 37.  Hmmm....I wonder how they will get out?


8.  Read to the end of the story.  How do you think Mike and Mary Anne feel at the end of the story?  


 Enjoy the story!

P.S.  Don't forget to enter in the giveaway!