Digger and Tom by Sebastien Braun

Digger and Tom by Sebastien Braun

Rating: 5 stars

Separately, I tell Lorelei, Ben and Kiefer that they have a special superpower with each other: the power of encouragement.  While a "You can do it!" from Mommy or Daddy is great and sometimes can't be beat, a "You can do it!" from your sibling (especially, in Lorelei and Ben's case, an older sibling), is pretty awesome in its own way.  What grown younger sibling doesn't still crave an encouraging "You can do it!" from their older brother or sister?!

Oh, wait.  Shoot.  Am I the only one?  Hmm...

Anyway, Digger and Tom by Sebastien Braun provides just the right context for helping your child understand how wonderful it is to say "You can do it!" to somebody else.  We've all got to be so darn self-motivated in the world; it's nice for some help some days.

Digger is a little digger, the littlest construction vehicle on the lot.  He and Tom, a dump truck, work together to move dirt and rubble and other stuff.  While clearing the construction site at the end of the day, Tom notices one stubborn rock sticking out from the ground.  Tom leaves it in Digger's small but capable bucket.

Digger hops to it, but the rock is just too big.  It is just too stuck.  The other bigger vehicles move in and push Digger aside, maneuvering their bigger and more capable bodies in front.  They each have a turn with the rock, but no one can get it unstuck.  Those big vehicles decide to take a break.

While they're catching their breath, Tom whispers to Digger: "Why don't you have another try? You're a digger.  Digging's what you do best!"

So he gives it another try.  And he gets it unstuck! He is tired but proud, and thanks Tom: "Thank you for believing in me."

I LOVE this sweet book.  There are two other books by the prolific children's book author Sebastien Braun that emphasize team work and encouragement towards smaller-than-most vehicles (older Toot and Pop and newer Whoosh and Tug), but this one is our favorite.