Dig, Little Digger!
Dig, Little Digger!
by ReadRead · 4 min readScoop, scoop! Dump! A little digger, a big truck and a tall crane build a playground, and a big rock teaches them to work together.
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Little Digger is small and yellow, and it wants to help. Crane says they will build a playground today. Little Digger scoops the dirt and dumps it in Big Truck, and Big Truck dumps it to make a hill for the slide. Then a big grey rock gets in the way, and Little Digger feels too little.
The new words in this book
To dig in and pick something up, like with a big spoon. It comes up 8 times, and every time the digger’s bucket really goes down into the dirt and comes up full.
To tip something over so it all falls out. It comes up 8 times: the digger’s bucket or the truck’s big bed tips up and the dirt or sand pours out.
The two words come as a pair you can see: first the bucket scoops, then it dumps. The refrain “Scoop and dump, scoop and dump!” comes back so a child can say it along. Every other word is a common word, like truck, dirt, pile, rock, sand and slide.
Questions to ask while you read
Pause after each spread and ask one question. There are no right answers; the point is to get your child talking.
- 1What can you see on the building site?
- 2What will they build? What would you put in a playground?
- 3What does Little Digger pick up? How does the pile change?
- 4Where does the dirt go?
- 5What does Big Truck make with the dirt?
- 6Why can’t Little Digger move the rock? How does it feel?
- 7How do Crane and Little Digger move the rock together?
- 8What goes in the sandbox?
- 9Tap a pile to scoop, and tap Big Truck to dump!
- 10Is it good to be little? What can you help with?
How hard is this book?
About 300 words, longer sentences, more different words.
- Dialogue × 7“I can dump, too!” says Big Truck.
- Not / no × 3Oh no! A big grey rock is in the way.
- Will / going to × 2“Today we will build a playground!” says Crane.
- Contractions × 1“Beep, beep! Let’s go!” says Big Truck.
- Bigger / biggest × 2Scoop, scoop! The pile gets smaller and smaller.
All 104 words, most used first
the 21 · little 13 · and 12 · big 12 · truck 10 · a 9 · says 7 · scoop 7 · up 7 · beep 6 · dump 6 · is 6 · can 5 · dirt 5 · to 5 · too 5 · i 4 · in 4 · of 4 · rock 4 · here 3 · pile 3 · playground 3 · she 3 · are 2 · away 2 · comes 2 · dumps 2 · go 2 · goes 2 · help 2 · hooray 2 · lifts 2 · not 2 · now 2 · pushes 2 · rolls 2 · sand 2 · site 2 · slide 2 · smaller 2 · swings 2 · tap 2 · will 2 · you 2 · all · am · arm · around · back · backs · bite · brown · build · building · busy · but · day · dig · down · everyone · feels · for · full · gets · girl · grey · helps · hill · it · its · let's · more · move · must · needs · no · oh · on · one · other · piles · play · plays · puts · ready · sad · sandbox · scoops · side · slides · small · so · soft · sun · sunny · tall · then · there · thing · today · way · we · yellow
Names don’t count: the picture shows who it is.
Tips for parents
- First time: use Read to me and let your child just listen and watch.
- Act the words with your hands: a cupped hand goes down and up for scoop, then tips over for dump.
- On the playing page, let your child say “Scoop!” before each tap and “Dump!” when the truck tips.
- At bath time or in a sandpit, scoop and dump with a cup or a spoon and name it each time.