Reading it
reminds me of the excitement and movement of picture books from my childhood
(back in the stone ages).
Digger digs down. Digger digs deep, deep into the
ground.
Essentially, this award-winning author and multi-disciplined illustrator combo have created the perfect tale: a bored dog whose young human friend has left for the day, amuses himself by doing what he loves best in the world - digging.
Digger himself is an orangey coloured mutt with
scribbled legs and dancing ears, who is absolutely mesmerising. Children will
adore him and relate to the joyful abandon with which he digs. And digs.
Alongside underground
treasures with great big chunks and swirls of delicious, light-filled colour, the
book offers up scattered, rhythmic words that keep the story’s momentum
thrumming.
I loved everything about Digger Digs Down. The layered storytelling. The magical illustrations (which are probably a mix of paint and digital but you know what? It doesn’t matter at all).
But mostly, I loved the ending.
The ending, where dog and child are reunited in a whirlwind of colour and movement (aka the backyard) and where they play together by – you guessed it – digging.
Digger Digs
Down does challenge
some traditional conventions (you have to turn the book on its side more than
once!), and holds readers enthralled to the very last.
For those
who love dogs, discovery and all the mysterious places in between.
A truly remarkable book.
Title: Digger Digs Down
Author: Johanna Bell
Illustrator: Huni Melissa Bolliger
Publisher: UQP, $24.99
Publication Date: 1 August 2024
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9780702268656
For Ages: 3 - 8
Type: Picture Book