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Big Machines: The Story of Virginia Lee Burton/ How Mike Mulligan's Steam Shovel and Friends Came to Life

Big Machines: The Story of Virginia Lee Burton/ How Mike Mulligan's Steam Shovel and Friends Came to Life

Reviewed by: Margy Soule - Coffin Elementary School, Brunswick, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: May 9, 2018

Review

Teachers and parents with young truck and machine enthusiasts have a great opportunity with this picture book biography to introduce the story how one mother who loved to draw and dance and who also loved her sons created books filled with big machines for them. After reading this book, it only makes sense to then read Burton's classic books from an earlier time including Mike Mulligan..., Katy and the Big Snow, Choo Choo, and the Little House. This book could be used to introduce partial biographies (a slice of a life, not the entire life) or a crossover book about both writing and machines. The author also wrote Goodnight Goodnight Construction Site and the illustrator won a Caldecott Honor Blackout. This is a winning combination. Children who look at the illustrations will see that it is about a woman who likes to draw and dance and then they see a lot of drawings of big machines. This book's appeal should not just not be limited to nostalgic fans of Virginia Lee Burton's books.

Overall Book Score: excellent