favorite book friday

you will see a pattern here on 'favorite book friday'. there are some authors that i can't get enough of, that i love anything they write. and virginia lee burton is one of those authors. katy and the big snow was published in 1943. it has all the elements of a great story! there is peril and there is a hero- and the hero is a girl! sort of...i mean, she's a steam shovel, but her name is katy. there is a detailed map of the city of geopolis, complete with compass rose. that makes the first feature i like, learning map skills. the first few pages have illustrations framed in drawings of big trucks with their official names (helpful to me..."umm, that's a bulldozer", "that's another bulldozer").
on with the story- there is a big snow that blankets the city (that page is just white-so creative!) and the only machine strong enough to plow the streets is katy. she goes through the city uncovering roads. i love how it states that she is going east, or west and the compass rose is at the top of the page, reinforcing the map skills.
apart for my apparent love for map skills (?) the best thing about this book is the theme of hardwork and determination. she gets tired, but does not stop until the job is done. what an important message! i love this book and my kids love this book. little buddy is in my lap right now begging to read it. how's that for a positive review?!?