Sam & Dave Dig A Hole by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Jon Klassen. Published (2014) 40 unnumbered pages. L.310 R.L. 1.9 Level K-3. Looking for something spectacular to read to your students? This story demands the reader's complete attention, but it pays off in the end.
Kirkus Reviews starred (August 1, 2014)
When Sam and Dave dig a hole, readers get "something spectacular." The boys, on the other hand, do not. Their quest to find the spectacular brings them painfully and humorously close to buried jewels as they spade their way into the ground, accompanied by an intrepid canine companion. Readers occupy a superior position as cross-section illustrations reveal those jewels buried just out of the shovels' reach. Each time they near one, the increasingly grubby boys maddeningly change course. On they dig, tunneling in different directions, and each effort reveals (to readers) yet larger jewels evading them. Exhausted, they fall asleep, but the dog digs after a bone it senses below. In an unexpected turn, the ground gives way to nothingness, and the trio falls through empty space "until they landed in the soft dirt." At first glance, it seems they've ended up where they began: A small tree stands on the recto, and a house with a porch is on the verso, as before. But careful readers will notice that the tree here bears pears, while the tree at the story's start had apples. Other differing details (a weathervane duck instead of a chicken; a blue flower instead of a red one; a blue cat collar instead of a red) suggest that they've unwittingly fallen into another dimension. Poor Sam and Dave. Lucky readers. (Picture book. 4-8)
You'll spend more time discussing this book than you will actually reading it. Then your students will demand that you read it again. When I read this to my fifth graders, I started by asking them to take notice of the cover and wonder why Sam and Dave would want to dig a hole. After each page, I just asked the kids to share what they noticed. At the end of the story, the students enjoyed explaining what they thought happened at the end of the book.
Posted by Kellie Hale
You'll spend more time discussing this book than you will actually reading it. Then your students will demand that you read it again. When I read this to my fifth graders, I started by asking them to take notice of the cover and wonder why Sam and Dave would want to dig a hole. After each page, I just asked the kids to share what they noticed. At the end of the story, the students enjoyed explaining what they thought happened at the end of the book.
Posted by Kellie Hale
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