Dig, Dogs, Dig: A Construction Tail

by James Horvath, James Horvath (Illustrator)

Overview

Beginning readers will love this I Can Read adventure starring a doggy construction crew, gently adapted from James Horvath’s popular picture book of the same title.

Top dog Duke and his crew of construction-worker dogs are hard at work building a new park. They need lots of cool equipment to help them dig, haul, push, and plow—like a backhoe, dump truck, bulldozer, and grader. But what happens when the crew finds something unexpected buried deep in the ground?

Dig, Dogs, Dig is a Level One I Can Read book, which means it’s perfect for children learning to sound out words and sentences.

 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062357021
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	04/26/2016
Series:	I Can Read Book 1 Series
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	1,057,126
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

James Horvath has worked as a designer and illustrator for more than fifteen years. In 2002 he established Jamestoons Studios (with a workforce of one) so he could focus more on his illustration. When not scratching and scribbling at his drawing table, he plays with his two young sons and wife, bangs around on the banjo, surfs, and generally has a lot of fun. A lifelong devoted cartoon fan, James Horvath lives with his family on California’s central coast. You can visit him online at www.jamestoons.com.

James Horvath has worked as a designer and illustrator for more than fifteen years. In 2002 he established Jamestoons Studios (with a workforce of one) so he could focus more on his illustration. When not scratching and scribbling at his drawing table, he plays with his two young sons and wife, bangs around on the banjo, surfs, and generally has a lot of fun. A lifelong devoted cartoon fan, James Horvath lives with his family on California’s central coast. You can visit him online at www.jamestoons.com.

Editorial Reviews

With its punchy rhymes and Hanna-Barbera panoramas, Dig, Dogs, Dig hops along with the bouncy effervescence of P.D. Eastman's Go Dog. Go!…Horvath knows the desire for specificity that drives the truck lover, and duly names his vehicles and details their respective functions…Each page bustles with comic detail…

The New York Times - Pamela Paul

Fans of Goodnight, Goodnight, Con-struction Site will eagerly dig into illustrator/designer Horvath’s vehicle-centric debut, first in a planned series. Early one morning, the dozen or so canine workers hit the ground running, driving a fleet of big machines to an urban construction site. Horvath’s punchy verse both describes the vehicles (“The loader picks up/ a rocky big bite/ and moves out the rubble/ with all its might”) and spurs on the laborers (“There’s trouble in the pit,/ We’ve hit something big./ Get down in the hole and dig, dogs, dig!”). The high points of the story are the unexpected excavation of a giant T. rex bone and the revelation of the finished project: an inviting park whose centerpiece is a display of the prehistoric fossil. Buzzing with activity, Horvath’s crisp, cartoon-styled digital art includes numerous details to pore over (including the delivery of a truckload of ducks for the park’s pond and a cat that darts mischievously around the worksite), giving the book a light comedic punch. Ages 4–8. Agent: Brenda Bowen, Sanford J. Greenburger Associates. (May)

Publishers Weekly

With its punchy rhymes and Hanna-Barbera panoramas, Dig, Dogs, Dig hops along with the bouncy effervescence of P.D. Eastman’s Go Dog. Go!.” — The New York Times Book Review

“Fans of Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site will eagerly dig into illustrator/designer Horvath’s vehicle-centric debut, first in a planned series.” — Publishers Weekly

“Kids who get starry-eyed over trucks, earth-moving equipment, and construction sites should go gaga over this book, which has a pack of very capable canines scampering around and digging at a construction site.” — Booklist

“Beginner and experienced construction fanatics and their grown-ups will love this fun and appealing read-aloud.” — School Library Journal

From the Publisher

With its punchy rhymes and Hanna-Barbera panoramas, Dig, Dogs, Dig hops along with the bouncy effervescence of P.D. Eastman’s Go Dog. Go!.

The New York Times Book Review

Kids who get starry-eyed over trucks, earth-moving equipment, and construction sites should go gaga over this book, which has a pack of very capable canines scampering around and digging at a construction site.

Booklist

Kids who get starry-eyed over trucks, earth-moving equipment, and construction sites should go gaga over this book, which has a pack of very capable canines scampering around and digging at a construction site.

Booklist

K-Gr 1—These dogs aren't your typical backyard diggers-they're professionals. They rise at dawn, chow down on a pancake breakfast, and then jump in their trucks for a long day at work. The kid-pleasing parade of construction equipment ends at their work site, where the crew begins its project. The canines "push and plow," dig and haul, until they hit something in the pit, which requires even more machines, a crane, and a rock splitter, to help dig out… a T. rex bone! Finally, the canines congratulate one another as they watch other dogs enjoy their creation: a city park, complete with a giant dinosaur-bone exhibit. The minimal, pleasantly rhyming text keeps the story moving quickly, although young readers will want to linger over each page, examining the many details and machines in the illustrations. Each piece of equipment is named and its purpose is explained, "The excavator digs deep/with its scoop,/pulling up dirt/with a swish and a swoop," making the book a great introduction for new fans of construction equipment. The bright, cartoonlike digital art fills the pages with movement, while the text presents some pretty nifty rhymes, like "maneuvers" and "earth movers." Beginner and experienced construction fanatics and their grown-ups will love this fun and appealing read-aloud.—Marian McLeod, Darien Library, CT

School Library Journal

A dozen dogs and one black cat work hard to build a playground in this amusing story that will please kids who love excavators, cranes and dump trucks. The dogs wake up in their dormitory as the sun rises, and after breakfast, they're off to the construction site in their heavy-duty trucks. Each type of construction equipment and its function is described in the rhyming text as the dogs dig a huge pit and excavate a dinosaur bone. As the day goes on, the dogs work cooperatively to construct a playground complete with a dinosaur-bone display, landscaping, trails and a duck pond. Computer-generated, cartoon-style illustrations show cheerful canines and lots of activity at the site, but these dogs are pros, as their heavy equipment is carefully researched (and they always wear their hard hats). The entire construction process is conveyed in an energetic manner that is both entertaining and educational. The crew is identified by name on the endpapers, from Duke, the "top dog" boss, to Jinx, the black cat mascot. No new ground is excavated here, but these cheerful canines build up a charming bond with their intended audience. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews