Dinosaur Dig!

by Penny Dale

The first title from Nosy Crow, a new imprint of Candlewick Press!

Dinosaur Dig! has everything that boys love — diggers, dinosaurs, and dirt — plus a bit of counting thrown in for good measure. Bursting with energy, noise, and a splashy, surprising ending, this is an absolute riot of a book.

Genres: Picture Books, Dinosaurs, Childrens, Counting, Construction, Storytime, Transport

32 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2011

About the author

Penny Dale was born in Abbey Road near The Beatles' Studio, but grew up in Ottery St Mary. Her first school was so small that all the children were in one classroom, and even that wasn't full. She drew and made things all the time and her dad showed her how to use a hammer properly, something she's still proud of. She made plasticine models of everything she could think of. When Penny was very small, she found her parents' folios from a time when they both went to life drawing classes in London. She remembers being immensely impressed by their drawing, and even though she was very young, she knew she wanted to draw like that one day. At her junior school she was encouraged to draw pictures to complement written work, and this she loved, though this was not encouraged later on at secondary school, which she found disappointing. However, she still managed to illustrate work in some subjects, like Science (lively diagrams), Geography (coloured-in maps) and even made a lift-the-flap Norman Castle in History.

After secondary school, Penny took a Foundation Course at Bristol, then took a gap year to work with the Arts Workshop in Bath, making props and costumes, acting, and counting the takings on foreign tours. Later she did a Fine Art Degree at Exeter, where she met her husband Bryan. After college she began working for a time at the Northcott Theatre, designing and making costumes and props again, before she and her husband moved to Northumberland to work on renewable energy projects and graphic design. Their daughter Sarah was born in Hexham, and a friendship developed with an artist she met at childbirth classes, which led to shared daughter-minding, making time for painting, drawing and print making. A year later Penny moved down to South Wales, where Bryan took up a lecturing post in design. It was there that she started to write and illustrate children's books.


Today Penny is one of the UK's leading illustrators of children's books. Her books have met with great success: BET YOU CAN'T and ONCE THERE WERE GIANTS were included in the UK SATS booklist for many years. WAKE UP MR B! was commended for the Kate Greenaway Medal 1988. ROSIE'S BABIES (written by Martin Waddell) won the Best Book for Babies award and was also shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal in 1990. NIGHT NIGHT CUDDLY BEAR (also written by Martin Waddell) and TEN IN THE BED both won the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Award in 2001 and 2002 respectively. JAMIE AND ANGUS (written by Anne Fine) won the BOSTON GLOBE-HORN BOOK Award in 2003. Penny has sold over three million books worldwide and has been published in over twenty languages. Her most recent work includes PRINCESS, PRINCESS, as well as THE BOY ON THE BUS and JAMIE AND ANGUS TOGETHER.

Reviews

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This board book has everything - digging machines, dinosaurs, counting , machine sounds. What more could a little person want!

[midnightfaerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A delightful book that any dinosaur lover and non-lover alike can get into. My 5 yr old loves dinosaurs and loved this book because of it. my 3 yr old twins could care less about dinosaurs, but loved the story line and bright colorful pictures, and I, who could also care less for the big creatures, loved that it was also a counting book, therefore had some educational qualities. And I also have to admit, although simple, I too, was engaged in the story, and absolutely loved the ending. It brought back some of my favorite daydreams as a kid and we all sat looking at the last page and talking about it for a while. I don't want to spoil it, but I will say, one of my favorite daydreams as a kid was that my house would fill up with water and I could swim from room to room. I was a big swimmer. Overall, a book for all ages.

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

So..."Dinosaur Dig! has everything that boys love -- diggers, dinosaurs and dirt - plus a bit of counting thrown in for good measure. Bursting with energy, noise, and a splashy, surprising ending, this is an absolute riot of a book." Diggers, dinosaurs and dirt - everything that boys love! I WILL TRY IT! NOW I FINALLY KNOW WHAT WILL MAKE ME HAPPY!

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was awesome! Read it before gifting to my nephew who loves dinosaurs and heavy machinery!! He's five!

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A high energy dinosaur / construction picture book. The bright colors and lively text will make this a fun preschool concept counting book.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thump! Crash! Clatter! Clunk! Scrape! Sploosh! As the dinosaurs dig away at their construction site their numbers increase and their project gets more & more involved. Count as the number and variety of dinosaurs adds up until the very last page when the final project is revealed.

It’s no secret, our family has a huge reservoir of dino-lovers. Not only has the Turkeybird been a fan since I can remember, but as soon as Littlebug could start playing with his dinosaurs she grabbed them and wouldn’t let go. One of the first series of books we introduced to both kiddos were the “How Do Dinosaurs…?” series by Jane Yolen and they instantly fell in love. So when I discovered Nosy Crow had a new dinosaur book coming out I was obviously interested, as were the kiddos. The illustrations are actually quite similar to the style found in Yolen’s series that’s illustrated by Mark Teague which was a huge bonus because it felt like you were revisiting an old friend.

What sets Dinosaur Dig! apart from other dinosaur books is the brilliant text and gorgeous characterization. Often counting books are either too simple with only three to five word sentences per spread making it somewhat boring for older readers who may be past the “learning to count” stage. Dinosaur Dig! has just the right balance with a well written opening sentence followed up by a rephrasing of the same sentence along with action words on each spread. This set up makes it easy for very young readers/learners to focus on the numbers but also makes it enjoyable for older readers who enjoy reading and interacting with the dinosaurs on the page. There are also the scientific names of the dinosaurs on the inside cover of the book, which the Turkeybird loves learning! In addition to this, each of the dinosaurs are realistic, but not scary at all, making them easy to connect with for young readers who love these pre-historic creatures.

Dinosaur Dig! by Penny Dale is a stand out counting book that not only toddlers, but pre-school age dino-fans will absolutely love! Our family has quickly fallen in love with the delightful illustrations and text by Penny Dale that has reminded us of one of our absolute favorite dinosaur series by Jane Yolen. This is a fantastic book for families with toddlers and preschoolers who love dinosaurs and love to count. Dig, crunch and count through the pages of Dinosaur Dig! as these dinosaurs build their very own surprise ending that young readers will be thrilled to read about!

Originally reviewed and copyrighted at my site, There's A Book.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dinosaurs + construction = awesome! The dinos are working on a project and it takes all kinds of big exciting machines to build it. The text is simple, repetitive, and includes lots of onomatopoeia (sound words like crash, clatter, and splash). Each page a new dino joins in the fun so this book could be used in the classroom for its focus on counting. Readers can trace the completion of the dino building project through the pictures and it's not until the last page that the special project is revealed. The illustrations of the dinos are the perfect mix of realistic, yet colorful and not incredibly terrifying. I highly recommend this title to any dino/construction enthusiast and as a fresh addition to any dinosaur storytime!

Also the cutest thing maybe ever drawn is the image of a dino smoothing cement with a trowel!!!

[Jennifer Heise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This board book was a big hit with my preschool construction and dino fan. Numbers of dinos up to 10, mostly recognizable by species, use various construction techniques to build what turns out to be a splash pool for themselves-- a sure hit with preschool readers! There is a lot of repetition and rhyming, good for older toddlers and younger preschoolers, but the word rhythm is awkward and likely to tweak adult readers' sensibilities. This is not a counting book-- in many of the pictures the reader will need to struggle to find the last few dinosaurs. On the other hand, it would be good for painlessly introducing younger kids to the building sequence of numbers 1-10.
This is one of the only children's construction books I've seen that include concrete hand-spraying and paint spraying, a fun touch. Overall, cute and a good short, rhythmic choice.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up for my son for two reasons. First, he loves dinosaurs and second because he is fascinated by Diggers, so this seemed like the perfect book for him. It was a really simple but well-done book, perfect for little boys, though I'm sure little girls would get a kick out of it as well as it a fun book. It is a counting book from 1-10 and show how 10 different dinosaurs working together with construction can create something really cool. The front end pages feature the kind of dinosaurs in the book, and the back end pages show the construction equipment used in the book. I'm sure this will be a book I will buy for my son and use for storytime as well. Recommended for ages 3-7, 5 stars.

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best picture books I have seen in a long time. Why? Dinosaurs and construction trucks, everywhere! And you get to count! The dinosaurs are names on the inside of the front cover, and the different types of construction vehicles are named on the inside of the back cover. As the story progress, we can count more and more dinosaurs digging, shoveling, and having fun. It's a great book for reluctant readers, since there is opportunity to count aloud, read the onomatopoeia of construction sounds, and admire the mannerisms of dinosaurs who look as friendly as a neighborhood dog and act like construction workers. Happy reading!

[Krista Vogts · Rating 5 out of 5]

I originally picked out this book because I love dinosaurs. Also, I wanted to find a counting book that would be engaging to students. I love this book because it is an exciting way for students to practice counting. Also, this book introduces a lot of onomatopoeia which is an extra bonus to the book overall. I would recommend using this book in the classroom because there are many educational aspects to the book such as dinosaur names, machine names, counting, onomatopoeia, and etc. Dinosaur Dig!

[Autumn · Rating 5 out of 5]

K likes anything to do with dinosaurs. So when he picked this book up I knew he would enjoy it. This is an easy read, the book has colorful illustrations, counting, rhyming and does a lot of repeating. Such as
dumping dirt and rocks. Dirt and rocks tumble down. Crash! Crash! Crash!"
The dinosaurs are all working together to build something fun it looks like and each one works with a machine that helps get the building going
If you like dinosaurs, machines and building this is a good book for your little one. I know K enjoyed it.

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant. Author/illustrator Penny Dale places dinosaurs at the helm of heavy equipment on a construction site. What could be a better pairing than dinosaurs with cranes and bulldozers?!

In Dinosaur Dig, dinosaurs work together to carefully build a magnificent creation, shoveling, dumping, lifting, mixing, with lots and lots of onomatopoeia. Very fun.

“Five dinosaurs mixing.
Mixing sticky cement.
Sticky cement on
shiny trowels.
Scrape!
Scrape!
Scrape!”

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one is more of a 3.5 for me as I am not really into Dinosaurs, BUT, I know most of the kids that come into the library are mad for Dinosaurs. I like the Dig part (goes great with our 2013 Summer Reading program) and that the dinosaurs are productive making something. Right now in front of my house they are putting in a new water line, and it is big trucks, dump trucks and noise...but hey they are productive and when we are done I hope our water pressure is better!!

[Liam · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son loves this book! It has little boys two favorite things: Dinosaurs and Trucks together in the same book! I'm a carpenter and am impressed with how accurate the pictures of the tools and trucks are! Even the names of the trucks are accurate. Most kids books have all kinds of mistakes on these things. The author did her research! My son also loves to count the dinosaurs on each page! 5 stars!

[Jeanette Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well done, Jenny Dale. This book has it all. Dinosaurs, diggers, counting, dirt. I love the endpapers as well, featuring dinosaurs on one end and the names of the machines on the other. The children will read this one over and over again. The illustrations are clever and exciting. A very fun book overall.

[Ethan Wesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

My guys freakin love this book. We pick out our favorite dinosaurs in the beginning and then point them out as the story progress's "Hey your dino is spraying my dino with paint!". Sometimes I make them count the dinosaurs on each page. Sound effects required for the heavy equipment. The story is simple but the art is pretty great. Dinosaurs and trucks are a gold combo for little boys.

[Angelina Justice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great book that combines two frequent passions of preschoolers. What's not to love about a book that combines construction machines with dinosaurs and throws in all kinds of sounds to repeat?

[Carol Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book that includes dinosaurs, counting, and construction equipment. I like that the front end papers have picture of dinosaurs with their names and the back end papers has picture of construction equipment with their names.

[Wendy Kuzma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good one for Toddler Time. Good "sound" word and short text. Combines the popular themes of dinosaurs and construction. How can you go wrong? :)

[Jessi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Big hit with my 2 year old. He loves trucks and likes dinosaurs. Great way to combine them both! Plus he will actually count the dinosaurs on each page!

[Magila · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of our boys favorites. Fast enough to be fun for mom and dad even after reading it many times.

[Lauri Meyers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Counting. In a construction site, one dinosaur digging a hole, two dinosaurs shoveling earth, three dinosaurs tipping rock…ten dinosaurs watching and waiting for a splash! lots of onomatopoeia and wordplay DINOS + TRUCKS, Counts one to ten.

[Kate M. Colby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grandie got this book for Jack and read it to him over FaceTime today. He loved the dinosaurs and the diggers and counting them with the story. He was excited to see that they dug a pool and played in it.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jack was very engaged. He liked the repetition and the sounds and naming the trucks.

[Jenna Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess these books are growing on me, but they are absolutely ludicrous. 2yr old loves them though. I do like the back page with all the names of the different construction vehicles.

[Nichole · Rating 1 out of 5]

What do kids like? Dinosaurs! What else? Big machines! Ok, can we put those together?

No...

Kids may love it, but I do not.

[Erik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice repetitive flow with fun, colorful art and an interesting choice of dinosaurs.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

My 3yr old caught on to the counting 1-10 concept and liked the story overall. I was more impressed with Dinosaur rescue.

[Ada Maren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had this book as a kid and read it to my niece when I was babysitting- she loved it! It’s a lot of fun.