The Deepest Dig

Inspired by a true story! A tenacious kid digs deep and makes important discoveries
After a heavy rain exposes a bit of something in his backyard, Caden resolves to dig the treasure up and find out exactly what it is. He tries to enlist the help of his parents and teacher, who are dismissive and disbelieving―but that doesn’t deter Caden from his goal.
Caden’s next-door neighbor, Martha, is the only adult who encourages him to keep digging. Working together, they unearth Caden’s discovery: the giant bones of a prehistoric woolly mammoth! After comically misassembling the massive skeleton, Caden attracts everyone’s attention with his discovery―and finds another treasure in bringing his family together.
Rich yet simple illustrations accompany this funny, kid-empowering story that celebrates scientific inquiry and discovery.\nFrom School Library Journal\nPreS-Gr 1-Caden finds something peeping out of the soil in his backyard, "long as a fence post, hard as a stone." He tries to convince both of his parents that he has uncovered a treasure, but neither believes him. With the help of his neighbor Martha and her winch-equipped truck, he unearths an entire woolly mammoth skeleton, which he and Martha reconstruct together. Clever and colorful illustrations show the mother as brown-skinned, father as white with red hair, and include funny pictoral asides, such as the dog running off with one of the bones, and a human skeleton hanging inside Caden's classroom. These add considerable charm to the story. Still, the narrative teeters between the believable and the fantastic, and never quite lands on either. While the blurb on the jacket mentions that the author was "inspired by the discovery of a mammoth skeleton on a Michigan farm," there is no author's note or back matter to explain this. Susan Lendroth's Here We Go Digging for Dinosaur Bones is a better choice for young paleontologists-to-be. VERDICT While ardent dinosaur fans might get a laugh out of this book, there are better options.-Sue Morgan, Hillsborough City School District, Hillsborough, CAα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.