Sam and Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett

This week with my younger classes we read Sam and Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett.  The story is about two boys who decide to dig a hole and they won't stop digging until they find something spectacular.  They dig up and down and side to side but never seem to find anything spectacular.  They boys take a short nap in their hole but the dog keeps on digging while they rest.  What happens next is truly spectacular.

The first class I read this with was a kindergarten class and I thought that I might have to explain it a bit to them.  Wrong.  They explained it to me.  I didn't notice that the first page has an apple tree and the last page has a pear tree.  When they wake from their nap they aren't in the same spot.  There's actually quite a few differences between the first and last pages.  

Sam and Dave Dig a Hole is a book of few words and really quite simple but the illustrations by Jon Klassen certainly make the story as good as it is.