Sam+and+Dave+Dig+a+Hole

= Sam and Dave Dig a hole = = AuthorMac Barnett = = Illustrated by Jon Klassen =



__Biographical Data__ isbn: 9781406357769 October 2014 Candlewick Age range 4-8

__Summary__ Sam and Dave Dig a Hole is a story about two boys, Sam and Dave who decide to dig a hole to find something spectacular. They were digging for so long with no luck that they decided to change direction right before they hit something spectacular. Each time after that when they changed direction in order to better the chance of finding something they end up missing a treasure. After they got tired of digging they fell asleep in the hole that they made. When they woke up they were falling down and out of the hole. The day ended up being spectacular after all. The two boys never had a chance to realize what they missed because they were so focused on their task which ended up being what was spectacular after all.

__Review__ While Sam and Dave are digging and they are about to miss a treasure they audience sees what they are missing due to the illustrations in this book. This story is great for adults and children because of the message that it sends. Children will think it is a fun story about two friends who go on an adventure but adults, and maybe even older children will get the idea that sometimes the path you are initially on is the one that I meant to be. I would recomend to have this book in a classroom becuase it is different compared to the standard children's book. This book would appeal to any child that enjoys reading about adventures.

__Author Bio__ Mac Barnett is a children’s author born on August 23, 1982 and lives in Berkley California. He attended Pomona College and studied under the writer David Foster Wallace. Along with Sam and Dave Dig a Hole, Barnett is also known for many other children’s books including Extra Yarn which also won a Caldecott award. Sam and Dave Dig a Hole won a Caldecott award along with the E.B. White Read -Aloud Award. He is a New York Times best-selling author for over 18 books and is overall a successful children’s author.

__Analysis of Literary Element__ The major theme throughout the story was if you change your path you might miss what is coming up next. This is something that older children might be able to pick up on, but younger children will take the adventure aspect out of it. This story also focuses on determination and making the best of the situation you are in. When Sam and Dave could not find anything they kept looking, they did not know what they were missing. In the classroom, I would apply this by asking my students about what they would do if they were doing something that was challenging and they felt like giving up? A more practical activity that could be done with this book is having the students get into groups and have them in thier groups decide how they would handle a situation that would require them to have to chose whether to stop or keep going. The goal of this lesson would be to have the students be able to discuss together that teamwork is helpful and it is nice to encourage your friends.

The author and the illustrator of this book made a trailer, here is the link