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Dig, Little Digger!
Things that goAges 5–7

Dig, Little Digger!

by ReadRead · 4 min read

Scoop, scoop! Dump! A little digger, a big truck and a tall crane build a playground, and a big rock teaches them to work together.

10pop-up spreads
52things to tap
2new words
Words in this book
scoopdumparoundawaybackbacksbeepbite
Peek inside

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Inside the book

Little Digger is small and yellow, and it wants to help. Crane says they will build a playground today. Little Digger scoops the dirt and dumps it in Big Truck, and Big Truck dumps it to make a hill for the slide. Then a big grey rock gets in the way, and Little Digger feels too little.

Little Digger dumps a bucket of dirt into Big Truck in Dig, Little Digger!
Little Digger dumps a bucket of dirt into Big Truck in Dig, Little Digger!
Little Digger, Big Truck and Crane on the building site.
Little Digger, Big Truck and Crane on the building site.
Crane and Little Digger work together to move the big rock.
Crane and Little Digger work together to move the big rock.
The new playground at sunset.
The new playground at sunset.

The two new words

scoop

To dig in and pick something up, like with a big spoon. It comes up 8 times, and every time the digger’s bucket really goes down into the dirt and comes up full.

dump

To tip something over so it all falls out. It comes up 8 times: the digger’s bucket or the truck’s big bed tips up and the dirt or sand pours out.

The two words come as a pair you can see: first the bucket scoops, then it dumps. The refrain “Scoop and dump, scoop and dump!” comes back so a child can say it along. Every other word is a common word, like truck, dirt, pile, rock, sand and slide.

Questions to ask while you read

Pause after each spread and ask one question. There are no right answers; the point is to get your child talking.

  1. 1What can you see on the building site?
  2. 2What will they build? What would you put in a playground?
  3. 3What does Little Digger pick up? How does the pile change?
  4. 4Where does the dirt go?
  5. 5What does Big Truck make with the dirt?
  6. 6Why can’t Little Digger move the rock? How does it feel?
  7. 7How do Crane and Little Digger move the rock together?
  8. 8What goes in the sandbox?
  9. 9Tap a pile to scoop, and tap Big Truck to dump!
  10. 10Is it good to be little? What can you help with?

Tips for parents

  • First time: use Read to me and let your child just listen and watch.
  • Act the words with your hands: a cupped hand goes down and up for scoop, then tips over for dump.
  • On the playing page, let your child say “Scoop!” before each tap and “Dump!” when the truck tips.
  • At bath time or in a sandpit, scoop and dump with a cup or a spoon and name it each time.
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