Digging Tunnels

by JoAnn Early Macken, Gail Saunders-Smith (Editor), Don Matson (Illustrator)

Simple text and photographs present the digging of a tunnel, including information on the workers and equipment needed.

24 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

JoAnn Early Macken is the author of six picture books, including Grow, Baby Says “Moo!”, Waiting Out the Storm, and Flip, Float, Fly: Seeds on the Move, and more than one hundred educational books for children. Her poems appear in many children’s magazines and anthologies, including Hop to It! Poems to Get You Moving and the Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations. Her poetry instruction guide Write a Poem Step by Step is based on her workshops.

JoAnn earned her M.F.A. in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She has taught graduate, undergraduate, and continuing education writing courses at four Wisconsin colleges. She presents writing workshops for writers of all ages.

JoAnn lives in Shorewood, Wisconsin. Visit her web site at www.joannmacken.com.

Reviews

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having read Jets in a similar series of books, I thought my four year old son would enjoy this book as he is really into Minecraft right now. I was little disappointed in this book. There didn't seem to be much connections between each topic or page. The pictures are great to help demonstrate to children about tunnels but I don't think this book quite explained how tunnels are dug to my satisfaction. I understand it is written for young children but there needed to be a bit more to show the process from start to finish more clearly.

I do not think we will be checking this out of the library again.

[Rosa Cline · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series of books is very nicely written and true to life but written on a level that children can understand. They have a glossary in the back of words and definitions. Illustrations-photographs bring the text to life so children can understand what they are reading-whats being read to them.

This is a good series to just read or to have them write a report from.

[Stephen Snyder · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for children who are fascinated by tunnels and how they are made. The phographs are spectacular!

Kudos to JoAnn Early Macken!

Thank you for the loan Franklin Public Library!

[The Campbell Family · Rating 2 out of 5]

Almost overly simplistic. Didn't engage Bud as much as I would have thought a topic like "digging tunnels" would or should.

[Miss Pippi the Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy non-fiction for early learners about tunnels and how they are built.

Reviewed from a library copy.

2019 storytime theme: Tunnels

[Joanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

You probably didn't know this much about digging tunnels, and somehow they fit a lot of information into this short and simple book. It really is only a survey--I'm sure there's lots more detail they could provide--but for a introduction for children it contains enough to interest them (and me!).

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is out of the Pebble Plus series from the publisher Capstone. I love this series for the rich photographs. A single photographs always fills 3/4 of every two page spread. The accompanying text can be hit or miss. Sometimes in an effort to simplify a concept for the preschool/Kinder crowd, the information is too general or stereotypical to be helpful... but the pictures are always a wealth of information that inspire questions and discussions between the adult and the child. However other times the text is simple and yet richly informative for the age group. This hit-or-miss trait is common among most books intended for this audience, and admire the authors who tackle the difficult task of making the complex clear in a couple of lines of text.

Digging Tunnels is awesome because it allows the kids to see a part of the world they don't have much access to... mines, subway tunneling construction, and the underground pipes and waterways. The trick is to dive into the pictures and discuss the rich content that is there!

[The Brothers · Rating 3 out of 5]

A photographic tour of what it takes to make a tunnel. Wonderful photos of some fascinating digging machines.