Books like Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel
By Virginia Lee Burton
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel turns a digger into an underdog kids root for, racing the clock to finish that cellar before Mary Anne gets sent to the scrap heap. It's about a machine and its person proving they still matter. The books below are for kids who want to cheer for that kind of teamwork again.
Clifford the Big Red Dog by Norman Bridwell shares that heartwarming mood and the same heart for friendship with Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel.
The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes by DuBose Heyward shares that same quiet pride in a job well done, only the machine is a mother proving she's still got it.
Another big vehicle saves the day, but Katy and the Big Snow by Virginia Lee Burton buries the whole town in snow first and lets her dig everyone out.
The gentle giant who just wants to help is back, except Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen sets him loose in a library instead of a construction site.
Less about machines, more about generosity, The Quiltmaker's Gift by Jeff Brumbeau still lands on that same warm feeling of a good deed paying off.
Where Mary Anne proves her worth by digging, You Are Special by Max Lucado lets a small wooden Wemmick prove his without doing anything at all.
Shorter and quieter than a steam shovel story, Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes still gives your kid that same rooting-for-the-underdog feeling on every page.
Mary Anne proves her worth by digging; Ish by Peter H. Reynolds proves it by letting a kid draw badly and still feel proud.
The rhymes move faster than anything about steam shovels, but The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson keeps that same big heart about small helpers doing mighty things.
Mike never doubts Mary Anne belongs somewhere. Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman follows a baby bird who isn't sure where he belongs at all.
Shorter and quieter than the seed, The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds still hands your kid that same lesson about sticking with something nobody else believes in yet.
Less about vehicles and towns, Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans still has that same brave, small character winning over everyone around her.
