Summary: This story is about two friends, Sam and Dave, and their dog digging a hole in order to discover “something spectacular.” The illustrator, Jon Klassen, provides clues of how close they are to finding something spectacular as they progressively begin dig more. But, in the end, the reader is surprise as to what spectacular things happen to Sam and Dave.
Summary of Professional Reviews: The Kirkus review gave this book a starred review. They really enjoyed the "cross section illustrations reveal those jewels buried just out of the shovels reach." The constant change of course Sam and Dave were digging kept the readers wondering if they will ever find anything spectacular. They also enjoyed the plot twist in the end of the story when Sam, Dave, and their dog fall through the hole into an "unwitting dimension" with different details of their house looked from the beginning of the story.
Review by Madie Henderson: I really enjoyed this book and the illustrations provided. This book shows how important illustrations are to shaping this story. I found it very humorous as Sam and Dave were digging the hole and how close they were to finding their something spectacular. I also enjoyed though the illustrations that the dog knew when they were close to the jewels. Approaching the end of the book, the plot twist was a great way to end this story. As the reader, I thought Sam and Dave where going to discover their "something spectacular," but as they fell through their hole "until they landed in the soft dirt," they realized their adventure was "pretty spectacular."
This book would be useful when teaching… This book is great when teaching children about prediction. As the reader, I was constantly thinking of what would happen next for these main characters. Then, as a follow up lesson, since Sam and Dave defined their experiences as something spectacular, I would allow the students to share experiences or things they did that were spectacular and why.
Summary of Professional Reviews: The Kirkus review gave this book a starred review. They really enjoyed the "cross section illustrations reveal those jewels buried just out of the shovels reach." The constant change of course Sam and Dave were digging kept the readers wondering if they will ever find anything spectacular. They also enjoyed the plot twist in the end of the story when Sam, Dave, and their dog fall through the hole into an "unwitting dimension" with different details of their house looked from the beginning of the story.
Review by Madie Henderson: I really enjoyed this book and the illustrations provided. This book shows how important illustrations are to shaping this story. I found it very humorous as Sam and Dave were digging the hole and how close they were to finding their something spectacular. I also enjoyed though the illustrations that the dog knew when they were close to the jewels. Approaching the end of the book, the plot twist was a great way to end this story. As the reader, I thought Sam and Dave where going to discover their "something spectacular," but as they fell through their hole "until they landed in the soft dirt," they realized their adventure was "pretty spectacular."
This book would be useful when teaching… This book is great when teaching children about prediction. As the reader, I was constantly thinking of what would happen next for these main characters. Then, as a follow up lesson, since Sam and Dave defined their experiences as something spectacular, I would allow the students to share experiences or things they did that were spectacular and why.