Tiny and the Big Dig

by Sherri Duskey Rinker, Matt Myers (Illustrator)

Overview

A New York Times bestselling powerhouse team presents a doggie, a bone, and tons of determination to remind us that going for what you want brings ginormous surprises.

Sniff! Sniff-sniff!I smell a bone. A bone that's BIG.I'll get it out, I'll dig and dig.A big, BIG bone! I know it's there!It will take work, but I don't care!Tiny may be a small dog, but don't let that fool you. He's a pooch with power who knows what he wants. And he's going for it. But oh, those pesky pessimists -- they're trying to rain on Tiny's dig-parade! Thank goodness for one special boy who believes in Tiny, because in the end, this dog's grit proves that he's the little pup who could... dig up some giant surprises!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781338257182
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	01/30/2018
Sold by:	Scholastic, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
Lexile:	AD340L (what's this?)
File size:	40 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

Matt Myers is the illustrator of many books, including the New York Times bestseller Battle Bunny by Jon Scieszka and Mac Barnett, A Is for Musk Ox, Scarecrow Magic, Tyrannosaurus Dad, and EIEIO: How Old MacDonald Got His Farm (With a Little Help from a Hen). He lives with three little goblins in Charlotte, North Carolina. For more information, go to www.myerspaints.com.
Sherri Duskey Rinker is the author of #1 New York Times bestseller Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site and Steam Train, Dream Train, as well as Mighty, Mighty Construction Site. She writes books with hopes of happier bedtimes, wrangling some smiles, and encouraging kids to dig deep and dream big! Sherri lives in the Chicago area with her photographer husband, two sons, and one fluffy dog. Visit her at www.sherririnker.com.

Read an Excerpt

Sniff! Sniff-sniff!I smell a bone, a bone that's BIG,I'll get it out, I'll dig and dig.A big, BIG bone! I know it's there!It will take work, but I don't care!

Editorial Reviews

10/23/2017
Rinker (Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site) moves from hard-at-work vehicles to an equally determined canine in a very earnest story about a dog who refuses to listen to others’ negative opinions. Tiny, a brown and white pup, sends dirt flying as he digs in search of a bone: “A big, big bone! I know it’s there!/ It’ll take some work, but I don’t care!” Despite other animals’ naysaying (“Oh, Tiny, stop! You’re far too small./ There’s nothing in that hole at all”), Tiny digs on, and his grit (both literal and metaphorical) comes through in Myers’s high-spirited ink-and-watercolor cartoons. Eventually, Tiny uncovers several bones—among them a fish bone and a trombone—before hitting pay dirt: a dinosaur skeleton that cheerfully follows him home in a peculiar closing gag. There’s no missing the message about persistence, but Rinker’s verse is leaden and even unclear at times (“Woo-hoo! Hooray! Yay! Yay! Yippee!/ And now you see how it could be”). And it’s not always readily apparent which character is talking—all of the text appears in the same black font, sans quotation marks. Ages 3–5. Illustrator’s agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

"The singsong writing and upbeat message make this uplifting underdog tale a shoo-in for storytimes." — Booklist Praise for Sherri Duskey Rinker's Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site:*"Fun, rhyming text, cleverly personifying each truck with expressive eyes and amusing details." —School Library Journal, starred review"A great read-aloud story as you are settling your child in for the night." — About.com"A delightful debut." — The New York Times* "A standout picture book." — Booklist, starred reviewPraise for Matt Myers's Pirate's Perfect Pet:* "Luscious, thickly painted illustrations look as if they've been frosted. " — Publishers Weekly, starred reviewPraise for Matt Myers's A Is for Musk Ox:"Comical illustrations take this book to a high level. The illustration quality even makes 'musk ox' tags appear to be 3-D." — Children's Literature

From the Publisher

01/01/2018
PreS-Gr 2—Tiny is a small brown, black, and white pup with big plans. He smells a buried bone and is bound and determined to unearth it, much to the chagrin of a blue bird, a tabby cat, and a large white dog. They take turns telling Tiny to give up as he's too weak and too little to succeed: "Oh, Tiny, stop! You're far too small. There's nothing in that hole at all." The only ones who believe in Tiny and his never-give-up enthusiasm are the dog himself and his owner, a young boy. Written in singsong rhyming verse, the story goes a bit long and verses don't always scan well. Plenty of white space allows ink-and-watercolor cartoon art to stand out, revealing Tiny and the hole he's digging from a variety of perspectives. The child and several animals, including Tiny, speak in the text but determining who is talking can be difficult. VERDICT An additional purchase with a solid message. For the classic story of determination in the face of adversity The Little Engine That Could is still a crowd-pleaser.—Maryann H. Owen, Oak Creek Public Library WI

School Library Journal

2017-09-26
Tiny is a small but determined dog who digs for hidden treasures with encouragement from his owner and despite discouragement from other critters.The perky star of the story is a white dog with brown spots and floppy, black ears. His unnamed owner is a little black boy with red glasses who believes in Tiny's abilities to sniff out treasures and dig them up. A larger dog, a cat, and a bird all question Tiny's excavations with negative, teasing, and sometimes-bullying comments about his size and strength. Tiny perseveres, digging up a fish bone, a wishbone, a bone shaped like a telephone, and a trombone. After more digging, Tiny uses a long leash to pull something huge out of the pit he has dug—a complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton. The skeleton emerges intact, and Tiny takes it home, presumably as his pet. The rhyming story is humorous, but the verses have a singsong quality as well as some rather awkward lines and inelegant meter. Cartoon-style illustrations in watercolor and ink use white backgrounds to dramatic effect, with lots of digging action and varied perspectives. Excavating buried treasure is a popular theme explored more winningly in Paul Meisel's See Me Run (2011) and See Me Dig (2013) and in Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen's Caldecott Honor book, Sam and Dave Dig a Hole (2014).Tiny tries hard, but his tale isn't one to be treasured. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews