Title
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel
Author
Virginia Lee Burton
Illustrator
Virginia Lee Burton
Publisher
Houghton Mifflin
Date
1939
ISBN
0-395-259-39-8 (for the 1977 paperback edition)
Brief Summary (Extended Summary)
The story is of Mike Mulligan and his coal-powered steam shovel, Mary Anne, and how they adjust to being replace by modern steam shovels.  They leave the big city to dig the cellar for the new Popperville City Hall, and prove once and for all that Mary Anne can dig as much in a day as hundred men in a week.
Of Special Note
The end pages of the book illustrate the different parts of a steam shovel.  The important underlying theme is how to adjust to new challenges, and how to treat people.  Especially powerful might be the example of the child coming up with a creative solution to a problem created by adults.
This book could lead to a lesson on...
1.  Gears.
2.  Simple Machines (Pulleys)
3.  Geology
Lesson Plans