• Age: 4 to 7
• Grade: p to 2

Join Digger Donald as he travels into the country for his very first time. Children will delight in the many machines and animals that Digger Donald passes on the way to his very important job. Accompanied by beautiful colour illustrations, this warm story will quickly become a read-aloud favourite.

Before going to Perth, Australia, to visit my daughter, son-in-law, and little grandson Conrad, I didn’t have any idea that I would write a children’s book. But during my brief visit, I became totally immersed in the world of little Conrad. I was intrigued with his fascination for all types of equipment—excavators, loaders, forklifts, fire engines, and trains. After three weeks, I felt I knew his every thought.When I returned home, all the things he said and did were written indelibly in my heart. I wanted to write it all down to recapture our time together. With the help of my husband and my daughter Carmel, I made a little laminated book and sent it to Conrad. Some of my family and friends saw a copy of the book and suggested that I try to have it published. Jeff Blackwood encouraged me to take the book to Flanker Press, and as they say, the rest is history.Blanche Smith lives in Conception Bay South, Newfoundland, and enjoys being a full-time homemaker and gardener.

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Carmel Smith started drawing as a young child, and hasn't stopped since. She graduated from Concordia University in Montreal with a B.F.A. in studio arts. Born and raised in Newfoundland, Carmel now makes her home in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, where she lives on an organic farm with a menagerie of animals.

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