Staff Pick
Sam and Dave decide to dig a hole to find something. Problem is, they're great hole diggers — just not very good finders. In the hands of the subtly brilliant Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen, Sam and Dave Dig a Hole is surprising, hilarious, and beautifully deadpan. Recommended By Gigi L., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
With perfect pacing, the multi-award-winning,
New York Times best-selling team of Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen dig down for a deadpan tale full of visual humor.
Sam and Dave are on a mission. A mission to find something spectacular. So they dig a hole. And they keep digging. And they find... nothing. Yet the day turns out to be pretty spectacular after all. Attentive readers will be rewarded with a rare treasure in this witty story of looking for the extraordinary — and finding it in a manner you'd never expect.
Review
"When Sam and Dave dig a hole, readers get 'something spectacular.' The boys, on the other hand, do not. Their quest to find the spectacular brings them painfully and humorously close to buried jewels as they spade their way into the ground, accompanied by an intrepid canine companion....Poor Sam and Dave. Lucky readers." Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Review
"Entertaining, funny and interesting....This picture-driven book engages the imagination with deadpan humor and dry wit." Minnesota Parent
Synopsis
A 2015 Caldecott Honor Book
With perfect pacing, the multi-award-winning, New York Times best-selling team of Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen dig down for a deadpan tale full of visual humor. Sam and Dave are on a mission. A mission to find something spectacular. So they dig a hole. And they keep digging. And they find . . . nothing. Yet the day turns out to be pretty spectacular after all. Attentive readers will be rewarded with a rare treasure in this witty story of looking for the extraordinary -- and finding it in a manner you'd never expect.
About the Author
Mac Barnett is the author of several award-winning books for children, including
President Taft Is Stuck in the Bath, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen, and
Extra Yarn, illustrated by Jon Klassen, which won a
Boston Globe-Horn Book Award and a Caldecott Honor. Mac Barnett lives in California.
Jon Klassen is the author-illustrator of I Want My Hat Back, a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor book, and This Is Not My Hat, winner of the Caldecott Medal. He is also the illustrator of House Held Up by Trees, written by Ted Kooser, which was named a New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Children's Book, and Extra Yarn, written by Mac Barnett, which won a Caldecott Honor. Originally from Niagara Falls, Ontario, Jon Klassen now lives in Los Angeles.