One of our Books of the Year 2014 Award-winning illustrator Jon Klassen has created a second delightful and surprising picture book with Mac Barnett, author of The Dark. Here two boys dig a hole. It doesn’t seem to take them far so they try digging a bit on their own. They still make little progress. So they take a rest…What happens while they are asleep turns out to be most surprising of all! In simple illustrations, Sam and Dave Dig a Hole gives a host of opportunities for imagining and dreaming.
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. This is an all-new story from the award-winning team of Jon Klassen and Mac Barnett.
It offers a humorous look at the pleasures of outdoor play and its often surprising rewards. The interplay of text and art makes this a great read-aloud.
How did Jon and Mac come up with the idea for Sam and Dave Dig a Hole?Mac: Well we were having breakfast together in a diner in Los Angeles. Jon: Yes. Mac: I was eating chilaquiles. Jon: I believe I was eating a fried egg sandwich. Mac: And then we just sort of got to talking about this book. It combined our enthusiasm for interesting forms and digging holes. Jon: Yes. I think that’s what interested me most about the book — the way it was going to be laid out as they got deeper and deeper in the ground, and the opportunities for a neat story there. Mac: Oh, I’ll bet people would like to know that you drew the first sketches on a diner napkin. I think that is a nice image. One that will make people like the book more. Jon: Yes. Mac: I still have that napkin, not because of the sketch, but because I have a box of all the napkins from every meal I’ve eaten since 1996. Jon: Ok!
How did you come up with the characters of Sam and Dave? Are they based on real children? Jon: Hmmm I mean, they are based on our “ideas” of children in that they are short Mac: And wear hats And have plenty of unsupervised time Jon: With tools Mac: They’re really just two kids who are excited to dig a hole, which I think is true of a lot of kids. Jon: Yeah! It’s a really simple but potentially exciting thing to do.
What do you hope children will takeaway from the story? Mac: I hope they will take away a copy of the story, bought and paid for with their own hard-earned allowance. Jon: Or whatever things of value they have managed to dig out of the ground. Mac: Yes, the real value of this book is not in any message, but in the many gems you can obtain by digging holes in your very own yard. Jon: “There are gems in the ground in your yard” Mac: WE WILL MAKE YOU MILLIONAIRES, KIDS.
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, USA.
