The New York Times Book Review - James Sturm
Dewdney's drawings of construction vehicles are as expressive as her llamas, and when Little Excavator beams with pride at the end of the book, the reader will feel the warmth.
From the Publisher
Raves for Little Excavator:
* "Pitch perfect...[Dewdney] has constructed a solid winner for one of her final books, with an appealing main character, vibrant illustrations with varying perspectives, and an action-packed, rhyming text with sound effects just begging to be read aloud with dramatic effect. An A+ for Little E and his creator."—Kirkus, starred review
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2017-03-20
A petite excavator named Little E finds his place among a crew of full-sized, heavy-construction equipment working together to build a park.The anthropomorphic Little E, with bright, friendly eyes and a cheery smile, invites readers into the story on the large-format cover. He is followed by a brown-and-white-spotted dog, which appears throughout the story as a friend to Little E. The construction vehicles arrive at an abandoned lot and begin working together to transform the property into a park. The rollicking, rhyming text names each type of rig and its function, including lots of sound effects and action verbs set in display type integrated into the illustrations: "Pusha-pusha smusha-smusha SMASH SMASH SMASH!" Little E tries to help with each step, but he is either too small or not strong enough for the task at hand. The last step of the park-construction project is the planting of a tree on an island reached by a bridge, but all the big rigs are too large to safely cross the wooden bridge. In a pitch-perfect conclusion, Little E is just the right size for the job. Dewdney, the late author/illustrator of the Llama Llama series, has constructed a solid winner for one of her final books, with an appealing main character, vibrant illustrations with varying perspectives, and an action-packed, rhyming text with sound effects just begging to be read aloud with dramatic effect. An A+ for Little E and his creator. (Picture book. 2-5)
