The crayon drawings in this book are delightful, and it has an old-school charm that is hard to resist. A child standing nearby has an idea for how to save Mike and Mary Anne, and the book closes on a happy note. They dig all day, and when they're done, they find themselves stuck in the hole they've made. They dig fast and a crowd gathers to watch. Mike is determined to find work, and he tells the city leaders he can dig the cellar for their new town hall in just one day. But soon no one wants a steam shovel anymore - Mike and Mary Anne had been replaced by diesel and electric motors. The two work well together, digging canals, making tunnels in the mountains, cutting through hills to make highways. It's the story of a construction worker named Mike, who names his steam shovel Mary Anne. I think I first read it during a visit to my grandparents' house, and it brought up some bittersweet memories. Every shelf had books that I had loved when I was a kid! It made me smile to see them again.īut I paused when I found "Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel." This is a classic children's book that was originally published in 1939. Yesterday I found them in the children's section. (Sept.One of the wonderful things about working in a library is that you never know when you're going to see some old friends. As a bonus, opera singer James Shaffran delivers a jaunty rendition of "Mike Mulligan Song." This diverting musical excursion will be welcomed in both classrooms and family libraries. Yadu's forceful and melodic voice is a good match for the music, but his delivery is sometimes affected and flamboyant, a performance better suited for the stage than for audio. On a lively, informative second track, executive producer Bonnie Ward Simon tells listeners about Burton and her inspiration for the story. , a note in the CD booklet and narrated by Simon describes the other musical themes and various sound effects, such as the sound of the steam shovel (created by the release valve on a scuba tank). Paying homage to Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf Paul Brennan plays the Uilleann pipes (Irish bagpipes) for Mike Mulligan's theme.
Simon conducts strings, woodwinds and percussion to emphasize key moments in the story and adds some unusual elements as well. Burton's much-loved tale about Mike Mulligan and the hardworking steam shovel is recast as a symphony program for kids, with an original classical score.
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