MIKE MULLIGAN & HIS STEAM SHOVEL is classic literature. If you ask my parents, it is unlikely that they have read any book (perhaps the Bible) more often. I have a copy of this book that I treasure dearly, and keep in a prominent place in my house.
Some things have a profound effect on who you are as a person - and somehow I think that is true of Mike for me. Virginia Lee Burton's book may not be as socially acceptable as it once was (Mike smokes a pipe throughout the book, and steam shovels aren't particularly "green") but I think it teaches powerful and important lessons that can transcend modern hesitations. I have no doubt that Mike was the most influential fictional character on my work ethic and deep love of the underdog. Not to mention my opinion of old men in rocking chairs smoking pipes.
