Mike Mulligan and More A Virginai Lee Burton Treasury {5 Days of Picture Books}

Before I started on my home school journey I visited many homeschooling families to see what they were using.  After many months I settled on using Sonlight Curriculum to begin our journey.  Over the years I have used many different curriculum options however we've always seemed to migrate back to my first option.  When Nathaniel was little we used the pre-school package from Sonlight and in this package we received Mike Mulligan and More A Virginai Lee Burton Treasury.

This is one of the most beautiful picture book compendiums I own. I loved reading these stories over and over and over again. The pictures are gorgeous and the characters are lovely. Each charater brings honour to living a simple life with integrity. Each hero exhibits determination and a graceful adaptation to the changes life brings their way.   Each story in this treasury is complete and unabridged.

• For ages 0-5
• Format Hardback | 208 pages
• Dimensions 216 x 238 x 16mm | 1,016.05g
• Publication date 28 Oct 2002
• Publisher HOUGHTON MIFFLIN
• Language English
• Illustrations note Illustrations, unspecified
• ISBN10 061825627X
• ISBN13 9780618256273 

Books in the Treasury

The Little House was awarded the Caldecott Medal in 1943.
From Book Depository: "The Little House, a poignant story of a cute country cottage that becomes engulfed by the city that grows up around it. The house has an expressive face of windows and doors, and even the feelings of a person, so she's sad when she's surrounded by the dirty, noisy city's hustle and bustle: "She missed the field of daisies / and the apple trees dancing in the moonlight." Fortunately, there's a happy ending, as the house is taken back to the country where she belongs."

 Maybelle the Cable Car is based on actual historical events in San Francisco.  It chronicals the city's efforts to keep the cable cars running.  The story shows how the voice fo the people can be heard in the true spirit of democracy to achieve good things.

Katy and the Big Snow illustrates how important even the smallest jobs really are.
From Book Depository: "Katy, a brave and untiring tractor, who pushes a bulldozer in the summer and a snowplow in the winter, makes it possible for the townspeople to do their jobs. In this enduring winter favorite from the Caldecott Medal winner Burton, Katy the snowplow finally gets her chance to shine when a blizzard blankets the city and everyone is relying on Katy to help dig out. Children love sharing Katy's shining moment of glory and will inevitably admire her "chug, chug, chug" endurance."

 Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel 
From Amazon: "Mike and his trusty steam shovel, Mary Anne, dig deep canals for boats to travel through, cut mountain passes for trains, and hollow out cellars for city skyscrapers -- the very symbol of industrial America. But with progress come new machines, and soon the inseparable duo are out of work. Mike believes that Mary Anne can dig as much in a day as one hundred men can dig in a week, and the two have one last chance to prove it and save Mary Anne from the scrap heap. What happens next in the small town of Popperville is a testament to their friendship, and to old-fashioned hard work and ingenuity."

Do you have a picture book author who has impacted your home or childhood to recommend?