Digger Digs Down

Digger Digs Down

Johanna Bell

Huni Melissa Bolliger

UQP, 2024

32pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99

9780702268656

Digger the dog loves to dig. So when he is bored when his little friend goes off to school, he follows his nose until he finds just the right patch of dirt.  Down, down, down he digs, only changing direction when he meets something he can’t dig through.  He digs down so deeply that he comes across something quite unexpected – something to explore.  But then he hears a little voice calling him…

Inspired by the author’s  daughter (then three years old)  telling her a story about a dog called Digger, which was quickly scribbled on the back of a receipt, this is perfect for our youngest readers to read to themselves as the illustrations tell the story almost without needing the simple repetitive text. And they will enjoy predicting what Digger might find when he starts his next hole… just what does lie below the surface that we can’t see? And what adventures might he have while he is there? 

Teachers’ notes help develop the story encouraging older readers to pay greater attention to the language and  illustrations, such as the significance of the rainbow shining in the hole, while the fossils he uncovers and his final discovery could spark an interest in the layers of the landscape and how it has been built over time, all demonstrating that picture books, and this one in particular, are not just for younger readers.