The Diggers [Paperback]

Margaret Wise Brown (Author)

Book Description

This tale begins with nature's smallest animal diggers--worm, mole, mouse, rabbit, dog--and progresses to "the big digger" made by man, a mighty steam shovel that digs a giant train tunnel. New illustrations by Daniel Kirk breathe new life into this classic.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Ages 2^-5. This reinterpretation of Brown's The Diggers (1960), originally published with two-color illustrations by Clement Hurd, features large, brilliantly colored oil paintings in a heroic style that romanticizes man and his machines (no gender neutrality here). The energetic, eye-catching artwork is the attraction because this is not one of the author's best texts. But that won't bother small boys in the locomotive and steam-shovel phase, who'll find lots to like here. Carolyn Phelan --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

The Diggers
-- Table of Poems from Poem Finder® --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion (January 1, 1900)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786811633
• ISBN-13: 978-0786811632
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.3 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,770,229 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Margaret Wise Brown wrote hundreds of books and stories during her life, but she is best known for Goodnight Moon and Runaway Bunny. Even though she died over 45 years ago, her books still sell very well. Margaret loved animals. Most of her books have animals as characters in the story. She liked to write books that had a rhythm to them. Sometimes she would put a hard word into the story or poem. She thought this made children think harder when they are reading. She wrote all the time. There are many scraps of paper where she quickly wrote down a story idea or a poem. She said she dreamed stories and then had to write them down in the morning before she forgot them. She tried to write the way children wanted to hear a story, which often isn't the same way an adult would tell a story. She also taught illustrators to draw the way a child saw things. One time she gave two puppies to someone who was going to draw a book with that kind of dog. The illustrator painted many pictures one day and then fell asleep. When he woke up, the papers he painted on were bare. The puppies had licked all the paint off the paper. Margaret died after surgery for a bursting appendix while in France. She had many friends who still miss her. They say she was a creative genius who made a room come to life with her excitement. Margaret saw herself as something else - a writer of songs and nonsense.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointment for the Nostalgic!, September 5, 2001

By 

Peter L. Jaeger (london, england United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Diggers (Board book)

"The Diggers" was my absolute favorite book as a child, nearly 40 years ago. The main attraction was the pictures, obviously. So when I saw that it was back in print I wiped the tears of joy from my eyes and ordered it immediately. Imagine my disappointment when the book arrived, full of bland, boring, politically correct 1990s pop art!! The wonderful old two-tone sepia and green drawings in the original were dream-inspiring. Margaret Wise Brown is an old favorite but I wouldn't call her a master of the pen. Her books are dear to us because of the magical combinations of low-key narrative and old-fashioned art. Set to computer-generated modern graphic ..., the old manuscripts do nothing for me. BRING BACK THE ORIGINAL -- PLEASE!!! Thanks all.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautifully done book!, June 27, 2002

By 

"loriwack" (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Diggers (Board book)

My daughter got this for her 2nd birthday 2 years ago, and she adores it. I am a huge Daniel Kirk fan, and the illustrations are outstanding. It is so refreshing to see brilliantly done oil paintings in a children's book (while most of them are cartoons, computer-generated, or pale watercolor). I am not much of a Margaret Wise Brown fan, but the rhythmic prose was catchy, and a joy to read. It was and remains one of my daughter's favorite books.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Trucks and Trains, September 9, 2001

By 

"junglelove" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Diggers (Board book)

What could be better for a boy of 2 1/2? After three days with this book my son was actually reciting pages of it to me. And the lyricism pervasive in all of Wise's books makes it a pleasure to read and to hear.