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Diggers, Dozers & Dumpers: Small Stories About Big Machines
CCBC Review:
Fourteen microstories starring anthropomorphic animals introduce readers to various types of construction and farming vehicles. Amanda Crocodile, for example, is fed up with having to ride her bike to work along a bumpy dirt track. “Want to learn some swear words? Try biking to work with Amanda sometime! / One day, Amanda has had enough. She gets herself a bulldozer.” There’s also Roberta Elephant, who lets the children at the park use the bucket of her dumper like a slide. (“This is probably not strictly allowed. But why spoil everyone’s fun?”) And then there’s Hedda Hen, who finds herself in a mowing competition with a neighbor, the two of them buying increasingly larger lawn mowers until “Hedda starts up her combine harvester, and that’s the end of that.” Accompanying each fictional situation are italicized tidbits of information about how the machinery works, or how it can be used. Cheeky animals, slightly subversive humor, and a clean design with color-tabbed pages labeling the machines make this volume as appealing as it is informative. ©2026 Cooperative Children’s Book Center
Illustrated by
Ole Konnecke
Translated by
Melody Shaw.
Translated from the German.
CCBC Age Recommendation: 5-8
Age Range:
PreK-Early Elementary (Ages 4-7)
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-10)
Format:
Picture book
Subjects:
Animals (Fiction)
Building/Construction
Humor
Vehicles and Transportation
Publishers:
Gecko, Lerner
Publish Year: 2025
Pages: 32
ISBN: 9798765667552
CCBC Location: Picture Book, Konnecke