Digger and Daisy Go On a Picnic
Meet Digger and Daisy! They are brother and sister. These dogs like to explore their world and see new things. Sometimes they agree with each other. Sometimes they disagree. But no matter the situation, one thing always stays the same--their love and concern for each other. In playful, simple stories written especially for the K-1 audience, author Judy Young explores the dynamics and nuances of the sibling relationship. In Digger and Daisy Go on a Picnic, Digger and Daisy walk to the park for a picnic. On the way there Digger's keen sense of smell leads him to explore his surroundings, ending up with an encounter with a skunk.
| Interest Level | Kindergarten - Grade 1 |
|---|---|
| Reading Level | Grade 1 |
| Copyright | 2014 |
| BISACS | JUV000000, JUV002070, JUV013070, JUV019000 |
| Publisher | Cherry Lake Publishing |
| Series | Digger and Daisy |
| Language | English |
| Number of Pages | 32 |
| Lexile | 250 |
| ISBN | 9781585368433 |
|---|---|
| Title Format | Hardcover |
| Release Date | 2014-01-14 |
| Author | Judy Young |
| Illustrator | Dana Sullivan |
| Features | Author/Illustrator biography |
| Dewey | E |
| Graphics | Full-color illustrations |
| Dimensions | 6 x 9 |
| Guided Reading Level | F |
| ATOS Reading Level | 2.0 |
| Accelerated Reader® Quiz | 163903 |
| Accelerated Reader® Points | 0.5 |
Reviewed on 1 March 2014
Digger and Daisy Go On a Picnic
This early reader series features dog siblings Digger and Daisy. In Picnic, Daisy stops to look at things, while Digger likes to smell them. Daisy tells him the name of different objects that catch his attention: flowers, a lemon tree, pie on the neighbor’s windowsill, and hot dogs on a grill. When Digger explores a golf hole, his nose is filled with dirt, and he cannot smell any of their picnic food, but his nose recovers as they approach home and encounter a skunk. In Zoo, Digger tries to copy the animals. He falls over when he tries to stand on one leg like the flamingo, attempts to climb a tree like the monkeys, wants to eat leaves from a tree like the giraffes, and learns to swim in a pond like the ducks. The books feature large a font, with lines that are short and easy to scan, and the bold, cartoon illustrations cheerfully reinforce the text with ample picture clues. Young readers will enjoy sharing these excursions.
Reviewed on 1 January 2014
Digger and Daisy Go on a Picnic
In Digger and Daisy’s second outing, Digger learns that—all appearances to the contrary—sometimes it is best to have a nose full of dirt.
Digger and Daisy, the two chummy canine siblings—as canine siblings, unlike certain other species, are wont to be—decide to go for a picnic. While Daisy is happy to take in nature with her eyes, her younger brother likes to exercise his nose. The words in this early reader have a nice levitating quality, even in the unlikeliest of places—“Digger likes to smell everything. He puts his nose in the hole. Digger sniffs. He sniffs dirt up his nose. Digger snuffs. He snuffs more dirt up his nose”—which make them fun to engage with. After Digger has gotten a good whiff of the flowers and the cooling pie and the franks on the grill, all of which raise a note of concern from Daisy for one reason or another, and after Digger gets his nose clogged for being, as it were, too nosy, the story reverses gears. It retraces its steps but now with the world of scent closed to Digger’s jam-packed nostrils. It’s almost Shakespearean, until the skunk arrives on the scene, its dashing black-and-white look a fine counterpart to the waxy crayon sheen of the rest of Sullivan’s artwork.
Even the best of brothers can cause a stink from time to time, but rarely are they so sweet.
Author: Judy Young
Judy Young remembers writing a poem for her grandmother when she was about ten. Her grandmother encouraged her to keep writing, and Judy did! Judy is the author of over two dozen children’s picture books and novels, including, Promise, The Wild World of Buck Bray series and the Digger and Daisy series. Judy’s books are used extensively in the public schools and have received numerous awards and honors. One of her most cherished is hearing LeVar Burton read A Pet for Miss Wright for Reading Rainbow Storytime Video to celebrate National Reading Month. Another, was watching as R is for Rhyme, A Poetry Alphabet was performed by the University of Utah’s Creative Dance Program.
Judy received her MA in Speech and Language Pathology from the University of Tulsa and formerly worked in the public schools for 20 years. Now, a frequent speaker at schools, children’s lit fests and professional educational conferences nationwide, Judy’s firsthand experience in the schools makes her programs not only entertaining, but directly related to school curriculum.
Judy resides in the mountains near Mink Creek, Idaho, with her husband, Ross, a professional artist, who illustrated two of Judy’s books. In her spare time, Judy enjoys hiking, fishing, snowshoeing, and gallivanting around the country in “Arlo,” the Young’s traveling studio. Read more about Judy, her books and author visits to schools at www.judyyoungpoetry.com.
Illustrator: Dana Sullivan
Dana Sullivan lives near Seattle, where he loves to hike with his wife, Vicki, and dog, Bennie, when he’s not drawing or writing. He wrote and illustrated Ozzie and the Art Contest and Kay Kay’s Alphabet Safari and illustrated the Digger and Daisy early reader series. His favorite animal is the dog, and his favorite vegetable is peanut butter. Since he was a kid, he’s wanted a red velvet cape, and now he has one! See pictures of Dana in his cape and other stuff at www.danajsullivan.com.