The Little Yellow Digger Gift Edition product reviews

So first my disclosure - I did not grow up with this book. This is not a tightly held part of my history of reading to children. I found the story very engaging however and would recommend this book.

I loved the quality of the hardback - I have to admit I discarded the dust jacket for using with preschoolers as it was just a bit awkward. I purchased this book as part of a collection to have for visiting children. It was a bit bigger than I expected which has led to it being difficult for little ones to handle but great for reading to a collection of children. I added this to a household collection as most of the other childrens books were well used and a bit worn so it is lovely to have a shiny new book which the visiting kids gravitated to.

This version is quite large and the illustrations although dated in style hold up well to being chatted over with different children. It is not an overtly New Zealand story and I think it works quite well with a range of children (international visiting kids proved this). I did note that it was generally more popular with the little boys who enjoy diggers to play with and it works well with a sandpit follow up.

I found the language good and simple and easy to read out loud as well as it being suitable for early readers who worked well with the repetition that the story has. The whole idea of STUCK was very popular with the little ones on rereading.

In all it is a great addition to the house but I have to admit I found the ending a bit weaker than I would have liked. It definitely works well to be reread with visiting children though.

I think anyone who has had contact with a preschooler in the last 24 years would be familiar with this story, as a preschool teacher with a love of reading, I can confidently recite the whole story with out looking at the pages. New Zealand children love the little yellow digger, and this version has a big star stating A New Zealand Favourite Picture Book which is great for those who perhaps haven't been in touch with preschoolers, it's easy to identify as a classic kiwi favourite.

Personally I have never found a copy of the book large enough to read to a group of children, this version is much bigger than a standard copy, which is fantastic, and makes reading to a small group of children easy, everyone can clearly see the little yellow digger. This gift version also has an embossed cover, with a digger track for the children to feel, (and for the preschoolers that I have shared this with, once they have felt the digger track once, every time the read the story they want to feel the track again, it adds another dimension to the already rich and descriptive language) and good quality pages that will endure being read, and examined again and again.

I have already purchased this gift version of the little yellow digger, for a friend (who's also a teacher) who's having a baby, I know that this gift will offer many years of enjoyment for her and her child, and may even end up getting passed on to the next generation in their family. I think the price is very resonable, and if you are considering buying a book as a gift this is a perfect choice for both boys and girls.