The Digger Dance

The Digger Dance is a picture book that will entertain young readers interested in the machines and vehicles found at construction sites. The story follows a boy’s imaginative day of play at his grandmother’s house. The story begins with his grandmother telling him that the diggers (excavators, loaders, bulldozers) in the construction site across from her house dance. The boy wants to see them come to life but finds he must wait until it stops raining for them to begin digging (or dancing) again. He occupies himself with indoor activities while also using movements to pretend that he is a construction vehicle. He plows through books, digs in his toy box, and also builds and bulldozes with his blocks. He continues to shovel, dig, and unload like a construction machine while helping his grandmother bake cookies. By the time they put their cookies into the oven, the rain stops, and the diggers are back to work again.

The playful illustrations by Yong Ling Kang work alongside Sadler’s text to bring the energetic characters and setting to life. The boy’s movements, excitement, and fascination with the construction vehicles are skillfully captured in Kang’s joyous illustrations. Readers interested in machines will also enjoy the pages dedicated to the work taking place in the construction site. In great detail, the pages dedicated to the construction site skillfully depict how the vehicles roar to life. Sadler’s text and Kang’s pictures work together to show the many types of movements and actions the vehicles are capable of while they build on their site. Readers will feel they are part of the story through the boy’s illustrated point of view in both indoor and outdoor settings.

Young readers interested in construction vehicles will greatly enjoy reading The Digger Dance. The words and illustrations in the story work together to immerse young readers in the young boy’s world. The illustrated perspectives in the story include a bird’s eye view of grandma’s neighbourhood, the interior of her house, as well as the construction site seen from inside and outside of her house. Children will enjoy following the boy’s fascinating journey as he explores how construction vehicles move on land and how they come to life to do their work.