OUP ISBN:978019277256-5 £6.99
Mole is a single parent living happily underground with his two children until one day they awake to the choking smell of diesel. Outside he finds three enormous diggers, intent upon destroying his home in order to build a shopping mall. How can one very small mole possibly persuade them to do otherwise? This one is both resourceful and fortunate in his location, because his bold claim that beneath them lie the bones of his last enemy is borne out by the fact this a dinosaur’s graveyard! Falling for this clever trick and fearing for their own extinction, the diggers flee and leave Mole Hill to its inhabitants.
From very young, we all love a “David and Goliath’ story and this fits the bill perfectly. Add to that a well paced rhyming narrative, brilliantly coloured, detailed diggers and dinosaur bones, plus a loving family unit and you have a winning formula. The cross section through Mole’s house is a delight and something young readers will want to explore and even recreate. The text lends itself to exploring adjectives and similes and the dialogue is excellent for group reading in parts in Year R/1, but measurements in ‘feet’ and a ‘mall’ night need some explanation.
Sue Barrett