Where Do Diggers Sleep at Night? by B. Sayers
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.20361/G2CC98Abstract
Sayres, Brianna K. Where Do Diggers Sleep at Night? Illus. Christian Slade. New York: Random House, 2012. Print.
If the title Where Do Diggers Sleep at Night? seems a tad familiar, well, it probably is. In the same vein as the ultra-popular Good Night, Good Night, Construction Site, Diggers presents the sweet nighttime rituals of diggers, trucks and other heavy machinery. At first I thought this was a simple effort to take advantage of a similar, bestselling title however Sayres’ work does indeed hold its own.
In this picture book aimed at ages 3-6, first time picture book author Sayres gives young heavy equipment aficionados a delightful take on the bedtime story. In rhyming couplets and often in a humorous manner, all sorts of trucks, cranes and tractors get ready for rest under the watchful headlamps of their caregivers: “Where do garbage trucks sleep / when they’re done collecting trash? / Do their dads sniff their load and say, / ‘Pee-yew—time to take a bath’?” Sure to get the young ones giggling.
The sleepy-eyed dozers and tow trucks eventually give way to an equally sleepy young boy in his cozy bed, with a reminder that the trucks will be waiting for him when he wakes. Save for one naughty truck, winking, under the bed (my five-year-old happily pointed this out).
Though the illustrations by former Disney animator Christian Slade are rather cartoon-like and not realistic, they match the text well, are in soothing nighttime colours and allow for the trucks to have droopy eyes and smiling faces. Read in a lyrical fashion, or even as a song, this would be a nice end to any wee truck lover’s day. This would make a nice addition to any public library or as a gift.
Reviewer: Debbie Feisst
Recommended: 3 stars out of 4
Debbie is a Public Services Librarian at the H.T. Coutts Education Library at the University of Alberta. When not renovating, she enjoys travel, fitness and young adult fiction.
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