Sam & Dave Dig a Hole

Barnett's comic voice is at its driest as he recounts that quintessential American childhood activity--the digging of the giant hole. His deadpan prose mimics the declarative sentences of early readers: "On Monday Sam and Dave dug a hole. 'When should we stop digging?' asked Sam. 'We are on a mission, ' said Dave." Klassen's boys, with identical poker faces and glassy expressions, hold their shovels American Gothic-style, considering their next move. Cross-sections of earth show them further and further down, and comic tension erupts as readers see gigantic diamonds buried at intervals underground while Sam and Dave tunnel on, missing every one: "So Dave went one way, and Sam went another. But they didn't find anything spectacular." Meanwhile, their dog's pursuit of a small bone leads further downward, possibly through the Earth and out the "other side." They land in their own backyard again--or do they? Barnett and Klassen (Extra Yarn) dangle the prospect of fantastic subterranean treasure before readers, but leave them with an even greater reward: a tantalizingly creepy and open-ended conclusion. Ages 4-8. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Oct.)

Copyright 2014 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

The winning picture book team that created Extra Yarn (HarperCollins, 2012) is back together in this understated, humorous, and charmingly perplexing tale. Sam and Dave, who are either identical twin boys or friends who look astonishingly alike and share a sartorial sensibility, set out to dig a hole in the hopes of finding "something spectacular." With shovels in hand, the boys (with an eager terrier looking on) begin to tunnel into the soil, but they just can't seem to find anything of interest. What works spectacularly is the clever play between words and pictures. As in Klassen's This Is Not My Hat (Candlewick, 2012), readers are in on a joke to which the characters are oblivious. Namely, that each time the boys change direction, they narrowly miss discovering increasingly enormous jewels hidden in the earth. The book progresses with each verso showing the boys' progress, while the recto features simple text, mostly dialogue between the practical but unlucky explorers. About halfway through, a spread reveals a diamond so large it can barely be contained on the page; it dwarfs the two boys and their trusty canine companion—but all for naught, since they decide to dig in a different direction. Exhausted and covered from head to toe in dirt, Sam and Dave decide to take a rest. Klassen's use of muted earth tones and uncomplicated compositions is paired well with Barnett's deadpan humor. As they nap in their hole, the dog continues to dig...until suddenly the trio is falling; they soon land in a place that looks an awful lot like home. Small details reveal that this house and its inhabitants are ever so slightly changed. Are they dreaming? On the other side of the world? In a different dimension? Readers will have to puzzle that one out for themselves.—Kiera Parrott, School Library Journal

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

"A clever second collaboration between Barnett and Klassen... The prose is deadpan; the joke's all in Klassen's winsomely smudgy illustrations." —New York Times Book Review 

"The deliberately poker-faced, almost banal flatness of the text isn't the joke here but the straight man to the ironic humor of the art (the boys' elaborate subterranean efforts carefully lead them just past several increasingly huge diamonds). ... Engaging as well as stylish. Kids will enjoy playing "spot the differences" once they figure out the joke... Young excavators will appreciate this surreal modernization of the old notion of digging all the way to China." —Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books 

"A visually appealing underground adventure... Kids will love to read, reread and just look at this book." —PBS Parents

"Is any childhood truly complete without at least one shovel-wielding foray into shoulder-deep dirt? ... A carefully choreographed interplay between Mac Barnett's straight-faced text ("So they kept digging") and Caldecott-winner Jon Klassen's stylized illustrations." —The Washington Post