DIG: A Journey Under the Earth's Crust

Dig is an adaptation of the Hubleys' TV film, and knowing this we can't help regretting the absence of sound and animation. Still, qua book, it is impressively inventive and forcefully designed. In script-style dialogue and illustrations that range from dramatic double-page clay colored graphics to black and white frames -- arranged like comic strips eight to a double page, the Hubleys follow Adam and his dog and their guide, a rock named Rocco, down through an excavation into the earth's crust and then through geological time. Adam meets Rocco's Uncle Iggy, Aunt Sadie and Cousin Meta, each of whom comes forth with an autobiographical song (""If you'd rather, call me Meta. I can change from what I am to something betta"") and run into accurately situated dinosaurs, rising mountains, glaciers and an earthquake (""Rocco: It's not my fault. It's the earth's fault. Fault of the earth! heh, heh! A fault is a crack in the crystal rocks!"") before tumbling back into the present. A blast of fresh air for children who unearth Dig in the school library next to all the droningly linear primers that pass for supplementary science texts.