MAISY'S DIGGER

Maisy and her pals create a pond.

Maisy uses her digger to dig a big hole in her backyard. After Eddie the elephant fills the hole with water and Maisy's other friends put their own finishing touches on the pond, everyone gathers and celebrates. This board book's emphasis is on cooperation and early narrative-comprehension skills. The clear chain of events simply illustrated by childlike lines and Crayola colors makes for a thunderously simple book, but that is entirely appropriate for its audience. Another Maisy board book, the simultaneously publishing Maisy's Race Car, uses similar illustrations and narrative tactics to get little readers used to the traditional story arc of beginning, middle, and end. Fans of Maisy's world will surely appreciate these two further adventures, and newcomers will find this a sweet introduction to the characters. These are very basic board books, but they both accomplish their goals.

A pleasant introduction to basic story structure.