Customer Reviews

How to Dig a Hole to the Other Side of the World

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I had an eight-year old girl that I tutor in reading comprehension read this book, and she loved it. This book is an interesting guide on how a child would go about digging a hole to the other side of the world.

I remember as a child tryng to dig a hole to the other side of the world. It made me wish that I had read this book as a child. It would have sent my imagination reeling.

This book is highly educational, as well. The child learns about geysers and other things she would encounter while taking on such an endeavor. I was worried that the girl who read this would have a difficult time remembering the elements of the story because it had so many scientific facts in it, but she didn't have a problem at all.

It's a very good book indeed.

Great book on an interesting topic. Children will learn about the earth's layers: topsoil, granite, basalt, steam, magma and mantle. Very readable; recommended for grades 1-5. Children can relate to this book--what child has not imagined "digging their way to China" at some point? Nicely illustrated.

The day this book arrived, my daughter read it on her own cover to cover. It opened up a great dialogue regarding the composition of the Earth. I sometimes have trouble getting her to read regular science books, but this one made it fun to learn about geology and geography.

This was my favorite book when I was 7,8, and 9 years old, back in the early 1990s. I read it countless times, so much so that my mother had to reinforce the binding with postage tape. It fueled endless daydreams. The author/illustrator team do an excellent job lending a tantalizing plausibility to the idea of digging through the planet. One of my favorite drawings was a blueprint of the character's subterranean digging machine, which I really intended to build some day. The details in the illustrations are very rich: the lighting effects give a real sense of heat, the rocks have tangible textures, and one drawing in particular -- showing a dug shaft surrounded by gems and dinosaur bones -- made me look at my own backyard as a teeming, subterranean treasure chest. As a very appreciative former member of the target audience, I give this book my highest recommendation!

I came to this by looking for more McNulty titles after enjoying the more recent 'If you decide to go to the moon' which I also reviewed. This copy is second-hand, but the story is not dated- I'm sure 'Journey to the centre of the Earth' will not date (though I have no way of playing the accompanying audio tape!). This is intended for, I think, 8-ish year olds, but my 3-year old loves it, despite having no concept of time, distance, temperature, pressure, the sheer impossibility of digging a hole that deep (and narrow!), or many of the other concepts (quick visits to Google Video or similar help to explain 'geyser', 'lava', 'volcano' etc). A children's book adults will enjoy re-reading.

My 5 year old daughter loves this book! By popular demand, we have read it every night for over a week. I was worried that the blend of factual information (layers of the earth, etc.)and fantasy (a "no-spaceship" capable of traveling to the center of the earth)would confuse her but it doesn't appear to be a problem. Independently, she has incorporated what she has learned into her play - high praise for a book indeed!

My 4 and 6 yr old LOVE this book! It's full of adventure and facts about the layers of the earth. I highly recommend it (my kids do too)!!!

What a lovely example of an engaging, living book. We read this yesterday and the kids were captivated. They asked to read it again today. So we did. Rapt attention. Then they took out the paper and crayons and drew and drew and drew. They all made plans for their own digging expedition complete with all the gear and food and how they'd pay for it. It was incredible to see them so caught up in a book.

This book relates what you'd find if you dug through the earth and so you learn about the mantle, crust, outer core, inner core, etc. All presented in a fun, imaginative way. You learn by having fun.

Check this book out from the library. Or better yet, buy it!

*taken from my review at goodreads