Dog on a Digger

by Kate Prendergast

Two perennial favorites -- canines and heavy machinery -- come together in a charming wordless book sure to please readers of all ages.

Dog likes to ride along while his human companion works the big excavator at the construction site. But today, when they stop at the snack bar for something to eat, Dog's little puppy friend goes missing. Luckily, Dog has a brave and ingenious idea for coming to the rescue -- with the help of the excavator, of course! Incorporating bright yellow accents, Kate Prendergast's wonderfully detailed pencil drawings tell a satisfying story of a loyal, resourceful, and clever pup.

Genres: Picture Books, Dogs, Animals, Adventure, Childrens, Fiction, Transport

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2016

About the author

Kate Prendergast is the author-illustrator of Dog on a Digger. After working for years in the transportation industry and raising her children, she decided to get an MA in children’s book illustration at Cambridge School of Art. She lives in London.

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book without words allows the young reader to create the story of their choosing. There appears to be a dog and its master who enjoy working on a digger, moving things from one side of the yard to the other. Another dog and its owner also play a role. A panic ensues, the need for a rescue arises... and all eyes turn to the dog. Neo and I created a few versions of the story and will likely make some more this week. The perfect piece to jumpstart the young person's mind and match a new story with wonderful pictures.

[Jessica Furtado · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wordless picture book that is sure to captivate young readers with its stunning illustrations, surprisingly suspenseful plot, and a tidy happy ending. A sweet story of friendship and finding courage when it is needed most.

[Laela · Rating 5 out of 5]

This charming little pup looks an awful lot like my new puppy. I can imagine my Dot having this sweet little adventure. It is a great doggy adventure for those of us who love dogs.

[KC · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wordless text with simple yet delightful illustrations.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great wordless picture book

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the illustrations (black and white pencil sketches with yellow and blue used sparingly) which is particularly important with this book as it has no words. I somehow missed that when ordering it for my dog obsessed oldest and construction obsessed youngest. It worked out though and I thought overall the situation was conveyed pretty well. I did struggle on some of the pages to know if it was top to bottom on the left page and them the same on the right or all across the top for both pages and then the bottom for the square story panels. Since there is no text to follow you just wing it. One other note about format this is an overly large picture book spreading wide left to right when open.

A pup and his owner are working on clearing a property using a digger when they stop for a lunch break. The young pup of the Snack Bar employee wanders off during this and they all set out to locate it. The main dog saves the day and it all has a happy ending.

[Dana Storytime Account · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm trying to use the "picture walk" approach and understand wordless books better but I don't know if it was this book or wordless books in general that I'm not a big fan of? The color scheme on this confused me to, I thought that something would show up green when the girl in blue and guy in yellow like met but that didn't happen so I wasn't sure why that was the choice made.

[Margie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations are so detailed no words are needed to tell this story of one very smart dog and how he rescues a pal.

[Patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

wordless story of a dog who save his small dog friend. Construction truck for those interested in that.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lassie has nothing on this little pooch. The story has no words but the reader sees this dog wake himself and then his master and all of the things that this faithful hound does with his human during the day. When they break for lunch the dog gets to eat with a fluffy friend at the food trailer. The new little dog soon disappears and his loyal friend raises the alarm and begins to look with the people for the missing dog. He hears him barking from a ditch where he is trapped in a tree above rushing water. He alerts the humans and with the digger they rescue his little friend for a happy ending.

Wordless picture books are wonderful because they allow for lots of discussion from page to page about what is being shown. A child too young to read can tell the story in their own words to anyone who will listen. The illustrations are evocative of picture books from the 50's and 60's done as pencil sketches with blue and yellow as accent colors. They are soft and crisp at the same time and invite lingering over the pages to see how much of the story you can catch on each page. A great book to instill a love of books in pre-readers and readers alike.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wordless picture book with soft pencil or charcoal drawings on a cream colored background. There is some colors which stands out brightly; yellow for the digger/excavator and the dog’s and worker’s safety vests and helmet, some blue for a snack stand and a dress.
A dog lives with a man in a trailer next to their work site; moving trash from a pile into dump trucks. They take their break to have a snack with the lady from the snack stand. She has a dog too. Her dog gets trapped on a branch above a water stream surrounded by concrete and gates. It is the dog’s idea to get the digger, place him in the bucket and save the little dog.
There is a variety panels and full spread pages of drawings, which make the story move along.
An adventure overlaid with friendship and bravery that could be used for many different lessons not excluding kids writing by creating words to the story. An addition for any library.
This is the author’s first picture book
Pre-1st
Oral
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[Joanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was a tough one. The kids who I babysit are two and under, so a book that is solely illustrations can be tough, especially if those illustrations are more artistic than they are kid-oriented. "Reading" the book to the two-year-old consisted of me sort of just pointing out what was happening in each picture. Later, he flipped through the book himself, so he must have liked it well enough, but at least for this age I would probably pass on it again.

As for myself, I do enjoy a unique children's book. I liked the soft sketches that lent a softness to the plot even as there were harrowing moments. I appreciated the single color--yellow--used only on the digger and the construction vests and hats. It added a pop to the pages and gave focus to the illustrations. The less vibrant blue used on the woman was a nice contrast. While I enjoyed the experience of "reading" it, I'm not sure I liked it enough to come back to it again.

[Steve H · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wordless, mostly grayscale pencil drawings with touches of yellow and blue, telling a simple story of two dogs and two people in a very small setting - a construction-like site with a food trailer nearby. There's nothing terribly sophisticated about this book, but I can see if being a favorite of kids who like a quick story of adventure and heroism.

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This wordless picture book mystery will entice the youngest reader to choose this book again and again! Kate Prendergast has illustrated this book about a dog who likes to ride with his human friend as he works on an excavator at a construction site. After they stop for a snack one day, a little puppy friend goes missing and Dog is on the rescue! His human friend understands that Dog wants him to use the excavator to rescue the puppy. The beautiful pencil black, yellow, and white drawings give all the visual details needed to solve this engaging mystery. Appropriate for all ages, 3+!

[Amanda · Rating 1 out of 5]

In the words of my co-worker, "This didn't do anything for me." And I kept getting confused by the art--from the very first page where the dog was sleeping, I couldn't tell if the dog was in a burrow or what?! This is not a good start!

[Alyssa Gudenburr · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great wordless book about a dog who goes to work with his owner on a digger. This cute story turns into a rescue mission when the snack stand's dog is missing. Would make a great one-on-one story to enjoy.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

The reader and the readee have to do the work in this one, there are no words. But the pictures are heavy on details making it easy to figure out what's going on and how dog saves the day. Come to think of it, without words you can invent your own story and who's to say you're wrong.

[Marcia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A beautifully illustrated wordless book. The storyline was a bit lacking for me— a dog is lost, another dog finds him. The setting is a construction site I think, but why does the man lives there in his little camper? Unclear to me, leaving an unresolved feeling, hence fewer stars.

[Brooklyn || The Wild Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a good dog! I loved the story telling in this... Sometimes I found the illustrations to be a bit too soft so details were a tad hard to see, but overall I was very impressed. The last page was my favourite with the new friends wearing they're own yellow jacket!

[Tompkins County Public Library Youth Services]

What a warm, sweet story! I love how this wordless book conveys the humanity possible within the otherwise somewhat cold domain of a construction site. Both the dogs and their owners are imbued with charm and personality, and the story left me thoughtful and smiling.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

love the illustrations and what a cool story of a dog helping his master and his little dog friend needs a rescue and the bigger dog comes to the rescue!

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wordless book. Not many wordless picture books can convey the story this well. And the illustrations are absolutely amazing. Beautiful book and beautiful story.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story of friendship and how friends come in all shapes and sizes. I can easily see how it can be read across the curriculum and ussed in writer's workshop.

[June · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, I'm a sucker. However, I just found the dog rescuing the puppy so cute.

[Angela De Groot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful wordless picture book.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars. Sketchy pencil illustrations, highlighted with yellow, tell the heroic story of a dog and a digger facilitated rescue.

[Bookjeannnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wordless

[Kati Polodna · Rating 4 out of 5]

So sweet. Didn’t see the twist. Loved the art.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A dog goes to work on a construction crew everyday in this no words book and today he partciaptes in a rescue. Elementary and up