Choo Choo (1937)

The adventures of a beautiful little locomotive who decided to run away from her humdrum duties. "Told in rhythmic prose, with many sound effects. Illustrated with amusing, vigorous drawings in black and white.” –Wilson’s Children’s Catalog

0395176840 (cloth)
0395479428 (paper)
0395511682 (audio)

Calico the Wonder Horse or the Saga of Stewy Stinker (1941, reissued in 1997)

In comic-strip format, this action-packed western drama is complete with cattle rustling and kidnapping, a stampede, a holdup, and a thrilling chase. From start to finish, Calico the Wonder Horse outruns and outsmarts the double-dyed villains – and, of course, saves the day! "Complete with lightening bolts and clouds of churned-up dust, for its tale of good and evil in the Wild West.” –Publishers Weekly

Calico the Wonderhorse I did for both Aris and Mike in an attempt to wean them away from comic books. -Virginia Lee Burton

039585735X (cloth)
0395845416 (paper)

The Little House (1942)
Caldecott Medal Winner

The little house first stood in the country, but gradually the city moved closer and closer. "The pictures are full of life and movement . . . Virginia Lee Burton tells the story of a little house which wins its way into the very center of our heart.” –Horn Book

The Little House was based on our own little house which we moved from the street into "a field of daises with apple trees growing around." -Virginia Lee Burton

0395181569 (cloth)
0395845416 (paper)
0395891124 (audio)

Katy and the Big Snow (1943)

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. "Bright, vigorous pictures with plenty of action and endless detail portray Katy at work for the Highway Dept. of the city of Geoppolis.” –Horn Book

Katy and the Big Snow is the story of our Gloucester Highway Department. -Virginia Lee Burton

0395181550 (cloth)
0395845416 (paper)
0395959918 (audio)

Maybelle the Cable Car (Originally published in 1952, Reissued in 1997)

By recounting actual events in San Francisco’s effort to keep the city's cable cars running, this classic story illustrates how the voice of the people can be heard in the true spirit of democracy. "The reissue of Maybelle the Cable Car, with original art retrieved from the San Francisco Public Library Archives, is a happy occasion." –The Five Owls

Maybelle, The Cable Car was made in memory of my school days in San Francsico. - Virginia Lee Burto

0395828473 (cloth)
0395845416 (paper)

Life Story (1962)

A beautifully designed book set up as a play in five acts. The passage of time is shown visually on each page. "Miss Burton succeeds in giving the reader a sense of his own place in the magnificent flow of time and creation." –Horn Book

Life Story, "The story of life on our earth from its beginning up to now." This book took me eight years to complete. The research from books - museums of natural history - and direct observation from life was an education in itself. -Virginia Lee Burton

0395160308 (cloth)
0395845416 (paper)

Mike Mulligan and More (2002)

With an introduction by Barbara Elleman, author of Virginia Lee Burton: A Life in Art (October 2002), this handsome collection commemorates four of Burton's most popular stories in their entirety: Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel (1939), The Little House (1942), Katy and the Big Snow (1943), and Maybelle the Cable Car (1952). Their appeal today, as strong as when the books were first published, is a tribute to Virginia Lee Burton, one of America's most innovative illustrators, designers, and writers of stories for children.

061825627X (cloth)

Related Reading:

Virginia Lee Burton: A Life in Art (2002)

Virginia Lee Burton's life may bring to mind a steam shovel and a man called Mike Mulligan, a charming little house, and a snow plow named Katy. Yet to speak only of Burton's achievements as a picture book creator would be to paint only part of the canvas of her life. Virginia Lee Burton: A Life in Art is an inspiring introduction to the exuberant life, art, and books of this truly extraordinary woman.

0618003428 (cloth)