30 July 2013 DIGGERS GO (board book) by Steve Light, Chronicle, July 2013, 16p., ISBN: 978-1-4521-1864-2

"Dig it. Dig it.  Dig it. Dig it."

-- The Beatles (1969)

Okay.  So what would YOU be figuring if you came upon a grown man sitting by himself, loudly going,

"THE FRONT LOADER GOES SKWEE BRRUMM BRUMM SKOOOOOO SKOOOOO"

Yup.  Either he's a few sandwiches short of a picnic OR he's just gotten hold of the new Steve Light book DIGGERS GO, and he's trying out all the new machines.

"THE EXCAVATOR GOES CHUMMA CHUMMA CHUMMA HUFFT HUFFT FALUMP"

There's just something about being human that makes us want to be digging and building from a young age.  Just the other day, I was recounting the story I'd often been told as a child about how I'd been a toddler sitting in a highchair in front of a big picture window at my grandparents, transfixed, watching a bunch of large machines build a park on open land just beyond their backyard.  And you know that I couldn't wait to get out of that highchair and go dig holes and build castles.  And, nope, I never did grow out it. 

"THE BULLDOZER GOES RRUUMBLE RRRUMBLE SCRUNCH SCRUNCH SCRUUMBLE SCRUUMBLE SCRUUUNCHH"

DIGGERS GO opens to spreads that are 6 inches high and 24 inches long, so there is plenty of room for BIG machines and BIG text on each spread.   

There are some excellent machine books out there for preschoolers, and this one will provide a great springboard to the McMullan books, the Rinker/Lichtenheld books and all the dramatic play that these books foster.

Okay.  Off to my sandbox I go. 

BRRUMM!

Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.com
BudNotBuddy@aol.com
Moderator http://groups.yahoo.com/group/middle_school_lit/

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