See Me Dig

Starred review from March 15, 2013
In this gem of an early reader, a cast of cavorting canines find more than they expected when they start digging--namely a scary bear, buried treasure, pirate ghosts and heavy construction equipment. Meisel follows his first title in this series (See Me Run, 2011) by using the same dog characters and limited first-grade-level vocabulary for kids just beginning to read on their own. This time, the endearing dogs dig up a huge box buried in the sand after the bear chases them away from the forest. In a surprise twist that will tickle young readers, the enormous chest contains not gold coins, but the ghosts of pirates who chase after the dogs until one brave pup stands up to the ghosts with a big bark. But there's another danger looming: the clawlike tines on the bucket of a tracked excavator appear to threaten the dogs, until excavator and dogs find that they can all dig in the sand together, side by side. Using just a few words and extremely short sentences, Meisel delivers a funny story with a real plot containing several surprises. His cartoon-style illustrations in watercolor with pen-and-ink and pencil details capture the canine personalities and create deliciously spooky (but not really scary) villains in the pirate ghosts. New readers will dig this. (Early reader. 5-8)

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March 1, 2013

PreS-Gr 1-The dogs from See Me Run (Holiday House, 2011) return in another charming early reader. Led by a golden retriever, the canines eagerly dig up a forest, only to be forcibly ejected by irate woodland inhabitants. They then commence to wreak havoc on a nearby beach where they unearth a treasure chest. Despite relying upon a straightforward narrative, Meisel still infuses the plot with fun and whimsy: the dogs find themselves chased out by the disgruntled ghosts of pirates who buried the treasure, and the story ends with the animals finding a friend in a fellow digger, a bulldozer. Short, easy-to-parse sentences ("See me dig," "We dig and dig and dig,"); large readable print; and repeated words make this an ideal choice to build confidence in budding young readers. Rendered in a combination of pen-and-ink, acrylic, pencil, and watercolor, the cartoonlike illustrations are filled with movement and animation, and the use of action lines (such as wagging tails or digging paws) adds to the energetic tone. Pairing these amusingly detailed images with an understated, pared-down text (a spread of foxes, bears, and squirrels glaring irritably at the crestfallen canines is described simply as "Oh no! They are mad.") produces hilarious results. These well-intentioned but mischievous dogs are truly winsome characters; their wide-eyed expressions, furrowed brows, and lolling tongues will readily endear them to children. A must-have for novice readers.-Mahnaz Dar, School Library Journal

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2013
Preschool-K In this I Like to Read title, which recalls Al Perkins' classic The Digging-est Dog (1967), plot takes a backseat to simple language learning. More than a dozen digging dogs indulge their earthward habits in a meadow before they are angrily chased away by assorted coons, bears, and gophers. We can dig here, one dog announces upon arriving at a beach, and together they uncover a pirate chest. Unfortunately, ghosts rise up and chase the mutts to yet another location, where they meet the yawning jaws of a backhoe ( He likes to dig, too ) and continue pursuing their pastime. Using a restricted vocabulary, the text invites predictionwill this event turn out happily or not? Meisel's softly colored illustrations depict stern, but never frightening, animals as they scamper this way and that. This whimsical choice for emergent readers should engender conversation about the element of surprise.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)