Digger wants to play, but Momosaur wants him to clean up first. She has specific instructions, but Digger keeps getting mixed up! It’s a good thing hiDigger wants to play, but Momosaur wants him to clean up first. She has specific instructions, but Digger keeps getting mixed up! It’s a good thing his friend Stego is there to help him figure out what needs to be put away, and to play with him when he’s finished.
This My First I Can Read book combines two things preschoolers love: dinosaurs and play dates. For that reason alone, it won’t have a hard time finding an audience. The storyline uses the silly humor that four- and five-year-olds find hilarious and it focuses on a familiar daily chore - cleaning up toys - that all kids recognize from their own lives. The illustrations are colorful and engaging, and they really set the stage in prehistoric times, showing that Digger lives in a cave, and sleeps on a slab of stone.
What is unfortunate, though, is that a great concept that promotes phonological awareness - mixing up rhyming words - becomes muddled in the execution. The problems begin almost immediately, when Momosaur says, “Your room is a mess,” and Digger asks, “She said yes?” The structure of Digger’s sentence of dialogue is awkward, because we normally don’t speak that way, and I had to read it twice to understand the intended mix-up. Digger continues to mishear directions, putting his coat on a book instead of a hook, and cleaning up his stones instead of his bones, and these two instances follow a clearer repetitive structure. Each time, Stego points out Digger’s mistake, and Digger says, “I can fix that!” Though this line attempts to serve as a catchy refrain, it doesn’t seem quite memorable or rhythmic enough to encourage young readers to repeat it. Overall, the text feels stilted and reads unnaturally, which is unfortunate for a book that is intended to be read aloud to emergent readers.
There can never be too many dinosaur books, so I’m sure Digger the Dinosaur will be a welcome addition to most library collections. That said, it’s not my favorite, and I think there are better-written and more clearly plotted stories at this level that would better serve the needs of a new reader. For dinosaur-themed alternatives, try Dinosaur’s Day by Ruth Thomson, Dinosaur vs. Bedtime by Bob Shea, and Dig Those Dinosaurs by Lori Haskins Houran.
Merged review:
Digger wants to play, but Momosaur wants him to clean up first. She has specific instructions, but Digger keeps getting mixed up! It’s a good thing his friend Stego is there to help him figure out what needs to be put away, and to play with him when he’s finished.
This My First I Can Read book combines two things preschoolers love: dinosaurs and play dates. For that reason alone, it won’t have a hard time finding an audience. The storyline uses the silly humor that four- and five-year-olds find hilarious and it focuses on a familiar daily chore - cleaning up toys - that all kids recognize from their own lives. The illustrations are colorful and engaging, and they really set the stage in prehistoric times, showing that Digger lives in a cave, and sleeps on a slab of stone.
What is unfortunate, though, is that a great concept that promotes phonological awareness - mixing up rhyming words - becomes muddled in the execution. The problems begin almost immediately, when Momosaur says, “Your room is a mess,” and Digger asks, “She said yes?” The structure of Digger’s sentence of dialogue is awkward, because we normally don’t speak that way, and I had to read it twice to understand the intended mix-up. Digger continues to mishear directions, putting his coat on a book instead of a hook, and cleaning up his stones instead of his bones, and these two instances follow a clearer repetitive structure. Each time, Stego points out Digger’s mistake, and Digger says, “I can fix that!” Though this line attempts to serve as a catchy refrain, it doesn’t seem quite memorable or rhythmic enough to encourage young readers to repeat it. Overall, the text feels stilted and reads unnaturally, which is unfortunate for a book that is intended to be read aloud to emergent readers.
There can never be too many dinosaur books, so I’m sure Digger the Dinosaur will be a welcome addition to most library collections. That said, it’s not my favorite, and I think there are better-written and more clearly plotted stories at this level that would better serve the needs of a new reader. For dinosaur-themed alternatives, try Dinosaur’s Day by Ruth Thomson, Dinosaur vs. Bedtime by Bob Shea, and Dig Those Dinosaurs by Lori Haskins Houran....more
This is very well-written and emotionally moving. I was fully invested in Josey's story of surviving the Holocaust and of the way the nursing home resThis is very well-written and emotionally moving. I was fully invested in Josey's story of surviving the Holocaust and of the way the nursing home residents helped Alex move on from the worst thing he ever did and from losing his mom. It made me cry several times.
(Parents may want to be aware that there are plot points related to same-sex relationships and gender identity.)...more
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