By Anna Dewdney
Man, I love Little Excavator. My husband picked it up at the bookstore without even opening it because we love Llama Llama Red Pajama enough to just have faith in the magic of Anna Dewdney’s writing. (Well, that, and because we were in a major construction truck phase around here.)
This book is 100% delightful. I would like it even if my kid didn’t like trucks. I feel a little sad when we don’t read it for a while. I like it more than just about any other picture book. It’s easily the GOAT of construction books.
Oh, and now every time we drive past a construction site, my son announces, “Little E, mama! I see Little E!”
➡️ See more of my all-time best toddler truck books
What the Book is About
A crew of construction trucks is turning an abandoned lot into a park. There’s a mini excavator (Little E) on the crew, who tries to help each big truck with their big jobs, but just can’t manage them. Then, one last job comes up–someone needs to cross a narrow bridge to plant the last tree. Little E is just the right size to get the job done!
➡️ See more of the Best Construction Truck Books for Toddlers
Why I Love Little E
It’s a pleasure to read, start to finish. The rhymes and rhythms are impeccable. It has great onomatopoeias. And the illustrations are perfection–more on that in a moment.
It’s also super relatable to a parent. We watch our little ones trying to help, and they just can’t quite manage it–especially younger toddlers, who will happily try to sweep the floor or mix the batter despite not quite having the gross motor skills to get the job done to our grown-up standards. The idea of finding a perfect job for the littlest helper is genuinely heart-warming (and the job here is simple and realistic, unlike in the knockoff Kid McGear).
Why Toddlers Love Little E
We get to see (and hear) each construction truck doing a job, one at a time.
It’s super clear what’s happening in each picture.
There’s a little dog.
There’s trash.
Little E falls down!
My toddler especially loves the part where the big trucks try to cross the narrow bridge and find they’re too big: “Can’t do it! Can’t do it!”
The Illustrations
The illustrations are excellent too. It’s a pretty conventional style – construction trucks with big smiling faces are not exactly revolutionary – but executed very, very well. The action scenes are super lively, and you can feel Little E stretching up, up, up to be as tall as he can. Little E is such a cutie.
We have the hardcover (non-board book) edition, which also features really nice end-paper illustrations showing the construction site before and after.
Final Verdict
A++. The GOAT! What else is there to say. Buy this book if you don’t already have it. Buy it even if your kid isn’t that into trucks (although beware, it could become a gateway truck!)
➡️ Want more recommendations? Check out my take on the all-time best toddler truck books!