The deepest dig

PreS-Gr 1--Caden finds something peeping out of the soil in his backyard, "long as a fence post, hard as a stone." He tries to convince both of his parents that he has uncovered a treasure, but neither believes him. With the help of his neighbor Martha and her winch-equipped truck, he unearths an entire woolly mammoth skeleton, which he and Martha reconstruct together. Clever and colorful illustrations show the mother as brown-skinned, father as white with red hair, and include funny pictoral asides, such as the dog running off with one of the bones, and a human skeleton hanging inside Caden's classroom. These add considerable charm to the story. Still, the narrative teeters between the believable and the fantastic, and never quite lands on either. While the blurb on the jacket mentions that the author was "inspired by the discovery of a mammoth skeleton on a Michigan farm," there is no author's note or back matter to explain this. Susan Lendroth's Here We Go Digging for Dinosaur Bones is a better choice for young paleontologists-to-be. VERDICT While ardent dinosaur fans might get a laugh out of this book, there are better options.--Sue Morgan, Hillsborough City School District, Hillsborough, CA

Undeterred by scoffing grown-ups, a child unearths a prehistoric treasure in his backyard. His parents laugh at Caden's news that he's found a treasure sticking out of the ground. In front of Caden's whole class, his teacher rashly vows to eat his hat if there's anything there. But with help from his neighbor Martha and the winch on her truck, Caden astounds the skeptics by determinedly pulling a pile of big bones out of the ground and, with a little guesswork, assembling a fossil mammoth: "Surprise!" Several extra and out-of-place bones in the climactic reveal will raise chuckles, as will closing news stories about how, while the skeleton, which has been sold to a museum for a "record price," will be going on tour with Caden's family, a certain teacher will be sponsoring a hat-eating contest to raise funds for a paleontology club. The sparely told tale, inspired by a similar actual discovery, may in turn inspire young readers to take closer looks at their own supposedly familiar surroundings. Snowden-Fine illustrates Smith's understated tale with naïve-style paintings rendered in a flat-perspective with broad swaths of color. A particularly striking spread depicts a dream in which towering mammoths walk along streets lined with row houses, with Caden, his dog, his parents, and Martha riding atop them. Caden is a child of color with interracial parents; his classmates are diverse, and the teacher and Martha both have pale skin. Score one for quiet persistence. (Picture book. 6-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.