Fantasy Genre: Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel

BOOK ENTRY FORMAT FOR GENRE PROJECT


Information for students
Author: Virginia Lee Burton Title: Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel
Book Genre: Fantasy Publishing Info: Houghton Mifflin Co., 44 pp

Summary: Mike Mulligan and his steam shovel, Mary Anne have always been one of the fastest and most sought after teams. That is until gasoline, electric and diesel shovels came into being. They travel all the way to the small town of Popperville to dig out the cellar of the new town hall. Although no one thought they could do it in just a day, they pulled through with the help of the townspeople cheering them on. Instead of getting paid for their services, they used Mary Ann as the furnace and Mike Mulligan as the new town hall janitor. This is a book that children will want to read time and time again.

Personal rating: ****

Rationale: Simple, but well thought out plot that children of all ages can understand. The characters are loveable and believable.

Information for teachers
Reading level: 4.4 Interest level: PreK - 2

Thematic Areas: friendship, loyalty, companionship, determination, problem solving, belonging, hard work equals rewards

Content Areas: history, science

Potential Problems or Difficulties: none

Possible use in classroom: Mike Mulligan believes that Mary Anne can dig as much in one day as one hundred men can dig in one week. We use machines to help us do things faster. Think of a job you wish you could do faster. Invent a machine that would help you. Supply students with numerous art supplies and let them create their own machine. Also, you could use this book to discuss how much technology has changed over time. Give students a chance to research and tell about their findings. Have students pretend they are Mike Mulligan and that Mary Anne has just dug a hole to find something amazing inside. Have them write about what they find and have volunteers share with the class. Discuss the little boy's suggestion at the end of the book that is the answer to Mike and Mary Anne's problem of getting out of the hole they dug. Ask: What other solutions to Mike and Mary Anne's problem can you think of? After talking about possible solutions, have children take turns stepping inside a ring of classroom chairs. Tell the first child that he/she cannot break the ring, but must think of a way out. (Children might consider stepping over a chair, having a group of people carry them out of the ring, imagine that a magical balloon flies overhead and carries them out, etc.) Encourage children to use their imaginations as they consider solutions to the problem. As children take turns standing inside the ring of chairs, hand them a variety of objects. For example, you might give one child a ball of string and ask: How could you use this string to help you out of the ring? As children work, help them to see that there are many different ways to solve problems.