Judy Sadler

PreS-Gr 1–A boy and his grandmother (and their dog) pass the time while waiting for something important; the small blue hat Gran is knitting gives a clue as to what. Gran and the boy snack, nap, and even sing and dance, but they keep returning to their temporary default state of “sit and knit and wait.” The palette is largely monochrome with effective use of spot color to highlight important people or items, such as the soft teal of Gran’s shirt, red for the boy’s glasses frames and shirt, yellow for lights and some of the yarn. The long wait is rewarded when the parents return with baby in tow; after a first delighted peek, the new older brother runs to get the hat he and Gran made and put it on the baby’s head. VERDICT A perfect addition to the canon of books welcoming new siblings to the family, this is highly recommended.… (mere)

First sentence: In the field by Grandma's house, there are diggers at work. Grandma says the diggers dance. Diggers don't dance, I say. Do they? I run to the field and stand by the fence. The diggers are parked all in a row. It's too late. Maybe tomorrow.

Premise/plot: A little boy discovers that diggers dance. A little boy is super-happy that his grandma has diggers that are--temporarily at least--working/parked next door. (What a dream for a construction-loving kid!) But the 'tomorrow' of the story is rainy--very, very rainy. Will he ever get the chance to see the diggers dancing?

My thoughts: I really enjoyed this one. It is written in verses (though not rhyming). I love the story. I love the characters. I love both the baking scenes and the construction scenes. I love the expressiveness of the illustrations.… (mere)