{"id":8110963622125,"title":"Usha y la Gran Excavadora \/ Usha and the Big Digger","handle":"usha-y-la-gran-excavadora-usha-and-the-big-digger","description":"\u003ch6\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/h6\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - ENTER AUTHOR\/ILLUSTRATOR INFO BELOW - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBy: \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/amitha-jagannath-knight\"\u003eAmitha Jagannath Knight\u003c\/a\u003e \/ Illustrated by: \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/sandhya-prabhat\"\u003eSandhya Prabhat\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - ENTER HEADING BELOW - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eThat's not what it is!\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhen sisters Usha and Aarti look up at the stars, they see different things. Aarti sees the Big Dipper, but little Usha sees the Big DIGGER. And cousin Gloria sees the Big Kite! Could they all be right? \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis installation in the Storytelling Math series is a playful introduction to rotation, geometry, and spatial relationships, \u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003efeaturing Indian American characters and a note about cultures and constellations.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - - ENTER RECOMMENDATIONS BELOW - - - - - - - -- - - --\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"recommended-books\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you like this book, you’ll enjoy these: \u003cbr\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/products\/bracelets-for-binas-brothers\"\u003eBracelets for Bina's Brothers\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/products\/lia-and-luis\"\u003eLia \u0026amp; Luis: Who Has More?\u003c\/a\u003e \u003ca href=\"\/products\/the-animals-would-not-sleep\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/products\/lunas-yum-yum-dim-sum\"\u003eLuna's Yum Yum Dim Sum \u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - - START OF TABS - - - - - - - -- - - --\u003e [TABS]\n\u003ch5\u003eLook Inside\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"spread\"\u003e\n\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0750\/0101\/files\/usha-big-digger-SPAN-spread.jpg?v=1673531516\"\u003e\u003c!-- Please call pinit.js only once per page --\u003e \u003cscript type=\"text\/javascript\" async=\"\" defer data-pin-shape=\"round\" data-pin-height=\"32\" data-pin-hover=\"true\" src=\"\/\/assets.pinterest.com\/js\/pinit.js\"\u003e\u003c\/script\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - - ENTER AUTHOR BIO BELOW - - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAuthor \u0026amp; Illustrator\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAmitha Jagannath Knight, author\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAmitha Jagannath Knight has lots of experience with sister squabbles, as she grew up with an identical twin. (They are still best friends.) Amitha lives in Massachusetts with her husband, two children, and two cats. This is her debut book.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/pages\/amitha-jagannath-knight\"\u003eRead more \u003c\/a\u003eabout Amitha.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - ENTER ILLUSTRATOR BIO BELOW - - - - - - - - - - - --\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSandhya Prabhat, illustrator\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSandhya Prabhat is an independent animator and illustrator from India. She has published nearly a dozen picture books. She also animates videos and designs e-stickers.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/pages\/sandhya-prabhat\"\u003eRead more\u003c\/a\u003e about Sandhya. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - ENTER AWARDS \u0026 HONORS BELOW - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAwards \u0026amp; Honors\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eComing soon!\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - ENTER REVIEWS BELOW - - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eEditorial Reviews\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUsha loves two things: trucks and cartwheels (although she’s still not quite sure how to do a cartwheel). When her big sister, Aarti, points out the Big Dipper while stargazing, Usha doesn’t see a scoop at all; instead, she sees a truck. Usha confidently tells her sister that the constellation (or, more accurately, as Knight notes in the backmatter, the asterism) she’s seeing isn’t a big dipper—it’s a big digger. Things get even more complicated when the girls’ cousin Gloria comes over the next night. Gloria doesn’t see the constellation as a scoop or a truck; she sees it as a kite! Through all of this, Usha practices her cartwheels. Each of the girls is convinced that the others are seeing the stars in the wrong way, until Usha flops on the ground after a failed cartwheel and realizes that the constellation is, in fact, a scoop, a truck, and a kite, depending on its orientation. This latest edition to the Storytelling Math series features stunning illustrations of dark-skinned South Asian protagonists, with Gloria apparently biracial (Black\/South Asian). The book bursts with charming images of endearing kids, and the story’s presentation of the girls’ varying, equally valid perspectives is a valuable tool for promoting empathy. However, its success at demonstrating the principle of orientation via a constellation is imperfect; any of the concrete examples in the backmatter would have worked better. Read for the illustrations and the characters (but not the math).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - ENTER DOWNLOADABLES BELOW - - - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eDownloadables\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"medium-cover\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0750\/0101\/files\/usha-big-digger-SPAN-cover.jpg?v=1643818261\" alt=\"Usha and the Big Digger\nbook cover\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"btn-wrapper\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"product-btn\" href=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0750\/0101\/files\/usha-big-digger-SPAN-cover-hires.jpg.zip?v=1643818261\"\u003eDownload the Cover\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"btn-wrapper\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"product-btn\" href=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0750\/0101\/files\/usha-activity-guide.pdf?v=1628515917\"\u003eDownload the Activity Kit (English)\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"btn-wrapper\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"product-btn\" href=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0750\/0101\/files\/stm-spanish-activity-kit-usha-big-digger.pdf?v=1644938091\"\u003eDownload the Activity Kit (Spanish)\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - - ENTER DETAILS BELOW - - - - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eDetails\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSpanish Bilingual Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003eISBN: \u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\" data-sheets-userformat='{\"2\":14337,\"3\":{\"1\":1},\"14\":{\"1\":3,\"3\":1},\"15\":\"Calibri\",\"16\":11}' data-sheets-value='{\"1\":2,\"2\":\"9781623542177\"}'\u003e978-1-62354-217-7\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSpanish Bilingual Paperback\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN: \u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\" data-sheets-userformat='{\"2\":14337,\"3\":{\"1\":1},\"14\":{\"1\":3,\"3\":1},\"15\":\"Calibri\",\"16\":11}' data-sheets-value='{\"1\":2,\"2\":\"9781623542184\"}'\u003e978-1-62354-218-4\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAges: 3-6\u003cbr\u003ePage count: 32\u003cbr\u003e9 \u003csup\u003e1\u003c\/sup\u003e\/\u003csub\u003e2\u003c\/sub\u003e x 9 \u003csup\u003e1\u003c\/sup\u003e\/\u003csub\u003e2\u003c\/sub\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n[\/TABS]","published_at":"2023-01-12T09:15:50-05:00","created_at":"2023-01-12T09:13:59-05:00","vendor":"Charlesbridge","type":"Children's Book","tags":["Browse by Age_Ages 3-6","Browse by Fiction\/Nonfiction_Fiction","Browse by Format_Picture Book","Browse by Language_Spanish\/Bilingual","Browse by Subject_Diversity","Browse by Subject_Food \u0026 Nutrition","Browse by Subject_Math \u0026 Counting","Browse by Subject_Social Studies\/Cultures","Browse by Subject_Story Time \u0026 Play"],"price":799,"price_min":799,"price_max":1599,"available":true,"price_varies":true,"compare_at_price":null,"compare_at_price_min":0,"compare_at_price_max":0,"compare_at_price_varies":false,"variants":[{"id":43912525512941,"title":"Spanish Bilingual Paperback","option1":"Spanish Bilingual Paperback","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"42184","requires_shipping":true,"taxable":false,"featured_image":{"id":38434343649517,"product_id":8110963622125,"position":1,"created_at":"2023-01-12T09:14:05-05:00","updated_at":"2023-01-12T09:14:05-05:00","alt":null,"width":600,"height":600,"src":"\/\/www.charlesbridge.com\/cdn\/shop\/products\/usha-big-digger-SPAN-cover_8838badd-6d97-40a5-ba5b-17e88ee859fe.jpg?v=1673532845","variant_ids":[43912525512941,43912525578477]},"available":true,"name":"Usha y la Gran Excavadora \/ Usha and the Big Digger - Spanish Bilingual Paperback","public_title":"Spanish Bilingual Paperback","options":["Spanish Bilingual Paperback"],"price":799,"weight":369,"compare_at_price":null,"inventory_quantity":-35,"inventory_management":"shopify","inventory_policy":"continue","barcode":"9781623542184","featured_media":{"alt":null,"id":31023968747757,"position":1,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":1.0,"height":600,"width":600,"src":"\/\/www.charlesbridge.com\/cdn\/shop\/products\/usha-big-digger-SPAN-cover_8838badd-6d97-40a5-ba5b-17e88ee859fe.jpg?v=1673532845"}},"requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_allocations":[]},{"id":43912525578477,"title":"Spanish Bilingual Hardcover","option1":"Spanish Bilingual Hardcover","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"42177","requires_shipping":true,"taxable":false,"featured_image":{"id":38434343649517,"product_id":8110963622125,"position":1,"created_at":"2023-01-12T09:14:05-05:00","updated_at":"2023-01-12T09:14:05-05:00","alt":null,"width":600,"height":600,"src":"\/\/www.charlesbridge.com\/cdn\/shop\/products\/usha-big-digger-SPAN-cover_8838badd-6d97-40a5-ba5b-17e88ee859fe.jpg?v=1673532845","variant_ids":[43912525512941,43912525578477]},"available":true,"name":"Usha y la Gran Excavadora \/ Usha and the Big Digger - Spanish Bilingual Hardcover","public_title":"Spanish Bilingual Hardcover","options":["Spanish Bilingual Hardcover"],"price":1599,"weight":369,"compare_at_price":null,"inventory_quantity":9,"inventory_management":"shopify","inventory_policy":"continue","barcode":"9781623542177","featured_media":{"alt":null,"id":31023968747757,"position":1,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":1.0,"height":600,"width":600,"src":"\/\/www.charlesbridge.com\/cdn\/shop\/products\/usha-big-digger-SPAN-cover_8838badd-6d97-40a5-ba5b-17e88ee859fe.jpg?v=1673532845"}},"requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_allocations":[]}],"images":["\/\/www.charlesbridge.com\/cdn\/shop\/products\/usha-big-digger-SPAN-cover_8838badd-6d97-40a5-ba5b-17e88ee859fe.jpg?v=1673532845"],"featured_image":"\/\/www.charlesbridge.com\/cdn\/shop\/products\/usha-big-digger-SPAN-cover_8838badd-6d97-40a5-ba5b-17e88ee859fe.jpg?v=1673532845","options":["Title"],"media":[{"alt":null,"id":31023968747757,"position":1,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":1.0,"height":600,"width":600,"src":"\/\/www.charlesbridge.com\/cdn\/shop\/products\/usha-big-digger-SPAN-cover_8838badd-6d97-40a5-ba5b-17e88ee859fe.jpg?v=1673532845"},"aspect_ratio":1.0,"height":600,"media_type":"image","src":"\/\/www.charlesbridge.com\/cdn\/shop\/products\/usha-big-digger-SPAN-cover_8838badd-6d97-40a5-ba5b-17e88ee859fe.jpg?v=1673532845","width":600}],"requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_groups":[],"content":"\u003ch6\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/h6\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - ENTER AUTHOR\/ILLUSTRATOR INFO BELOW - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBy: \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/amitha-jagannath-knight\"\u003eAmitha Jagannath Knight\u003c\/a\u003e \/ Illustrated by: \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/sandhya-prabhat\"\u003eSandhya Prabhat\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - ENTER HEADING BELOW - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eThat's not what it is!\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhen sisters Usha and Aarti look up at the stars, they see different things. Aarti sees the Big Dipper, but little Usha sees the Big DIGGER. And cousin Gloria sees the Big Kite! Could they all be right? \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis installation in the Storytelling Math series is a playful introduction to rotation, geometry, and spatial relationships, \u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003efeaturing Indian American characters and a note about cultures and constellations.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - - ENTER RECOMMENDATIONS BELOW - - - - - - - -- - - --\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"recommended-books\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you like this book, you’ll enjoy these: \u003cbr\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/products\/bracelets-for-binas-brothers\"\u003eBracelets for Bina's Brothers\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/products\/lia-and-luis\"\u003eLia \u0026amp; Luis: Who Has More?\u003c\/a\u003e \u003ca href=\"\/products\/the-animals-would-not-sleep\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/products\/lunas-yum-yum-dim-sum\"\u003eLuna's Yum Yum Dim Sum \u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - - START OF TABS - - - - - - - -- - - --\u003e [TABS]\n\u003ch5\u003eLook Inside\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"spread\"\u003e\n\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0750\/0101\/files\/usha-big-digger-SPAN-spread.jpg?v=1673531516\"\u003e\u003c!-- Please call pinit.js only once per page --\u003e \u003cscript type=\"text\/javascript\" async=\"\" defer data-pin-shape=\"round\" data-pin-height=\"32\" data-pin-hover=\"true\" src=\"\/\/assets.pinterest.com\/js\/pinit.js\"\u003e\u003c\/script\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - - ENTER AUTHOR BIO BELOW - - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAuthor \u0026amp; Illustrator\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAmitha Jagannath Knight, author\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAmitha Jagannath Knight has lots of experience with sister squabbles, as she grew up with an identical twin. (They are still best friends.) Amitha lives in Massachusetts with her husband, two children, and two cats. This is her debut book.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/pages\/amitha-jagannath-knight\"\u003eRead more \u003c\/a\u003eabout Amitha.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - ENTER ILLUSTRATOR BIO BELOW - - - - - - - - - - - --\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSandhya Prabhat, illustrator\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSandhya Prabhat is an independent animator and illustrator from India. She has published nearly a dozen picture books. She also animates videos and designs e-stickers.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/pages\/sandhya-prabhat\"\u003eRead more\u003c\/a\u003e about Sandhya. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - ENTER AWARDS \u0026 HONORS BELOW - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eAwards \u0026amp; Honors\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eComing soon!\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - ENTER REVIEWS BELOW - - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eEditorial Reviews\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUsha loves two things: trucks and cartwheels (although she’s still not quite sure how to do a cartwheel). When her big sister, Aarti, points out the Big Dipper while stargazing, Usha doesn’t see a scoop at all; instead, she sees a truck. Usha confidently tells her sister that the constellation (or, more accurately, as Knight notes in the backmatter, the asterism) she’s seeing isn’t a big dipper—it’s a big digger. Things get even more complicated when the girls’ cousin Gloria comes over the next night. Gloria doesn’t see the constellation as a scoop or a truck; she sees it as a kite! Through all of this, Usha practices her cartwheels. Each of the girls is convinced that the others are seeing the stars in the wrong way, until Usha flops on the ground after a failed cartwheel and realizes that the constellation is, in fact, a scoop, a truck, and a kite, depending on its orientation. This latest edition to the Storytelling Math series features stunning illustrations of dark-skinned South Asian protagonists, with Gloria apparently biracial (Black\/South Asian). The book bursts with charming images of endearing kids, and the story’s presentation of the girls’ varying, equally valid perspectives is a valuable tool for promoting empathy. However, its success at demonstrating the principle of orientation via a constellation is imperfect; any of the concrete examples in the backmatter would have worked better. Read for the illustrations and the characters (but not the math).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - ENTER DOWNLOADABLES BELOW - - - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eDownloadables\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"medium-cover\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0750\/0101\/files\/usha-big-digger-SPAN-cover.jpg?v=1643818261\" alt=\"Usha and the Big Digger\nbook cover\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"btn-wrapper\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"product-btn\" href=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0750\/0101\/files\/usha-big-digger-SPAN-cover-hires.jpg.zip?v=1643818261\"\u003eDownload the Cover\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"btn-wrapper\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"product-btn\" href=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0750\/0101\/files\/usha-activity-guide.pdf?v=1628515917\"\u003eDownload the Activity Kit (English)\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"btn-wrapper\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"product-btn\" href=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0750\/0101\/files\/stm-spanish-activity-kit-usha-big-digger.pdf?v=1644938091\"\u003eDownload the Activity Kit (Spanish)\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c!-- - - - - - - - - - - - ENTER DETAILS BELOW - - - - - - - - - - - --\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eDetails\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSpanish Bilingual Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003eISBN: \u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\" data-sheets-userformat='{\"2\":14337,\"3\":{\"1\":1},\"14\":{\"1\":3,\"3\":1},\"15\":\"Calibri\",\"16\":11}' data-sheets-value='{\"1\":2,\"2\":\"9781623542177\"}'\u003e978-1-62354-217-7\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSpanish Bilingual Paperback\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN: \u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\" data-sheets-userformat='{\"2\":14337,\"3\":{\"1\":1},\"14\":{\"1\":3,\"3\":1},\"15\":\"Calibri\",\"16\":11}' data-sheets-value='{\"1\":2,\"2\":\"9781623542184\"}'\u003e978-1-62354-218-4\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAges: 3-6\u003cbr\u003ePage count: 32\u003cbr\u003e9 \u003csup\u003e1\u003c\/sup\u003e\/\u003csub\u003e2\u003c\/sub\u003e x 9 \u003csup\u003e1\u003c\/sup\u003e\/\u003csub\u003e2\u003c\/sub\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n[\/TABS]"}

Usha y la Gran Excavadora / Usha and the Big Digger


By: Amitha Jagannath Knight / Illustrated by: Sandhya Prabhat

That's not what it is!

When sisters Usha and Aarti look up at the stars, they see different things. Aarti sees the Big Dipper, but little Usha sees the Big DIGGER. And cousin Gloria sees the Big Kite! Could they all be right? 

This installation in the Storytelling Math series is a playful introduction to rotation, geometry, and spatial relationships, featuring Indian American characters and a note about cultures and constellations.

Maximum quantity available reached.

Amitha Jagannath Knight, author

Amitha Jagannath Knight has lots of experience with sister squabbles, as she grew up with an identical twin. (They are still best friends.) Amitha lives in Massachusetts with her husband, two children, and two cats. This is her debut book.

Read more about Amitha.


Sandhya Prabhat, illustrator

Sandhya Prabhat is an independent animator and illustrator from India. She has published nearly a dozen picture books. She also animates videos and designs e-stickers.

Read more about Sandhya. 

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Kirkus Reviews

Usha loves two things: trucks and cartwheels (although she’s still not quite sure how to do a cartwheel). When her big sister, Aarti, points out the Big Dipper while stargazing, Usha doesn’t see a scoop at all; instead, she sees a truck. Usha confidently tells her sister that the constellation (or, more accurately, as Knight notes in the backmatter, the asterism) she’s seeing isn’t a big dipper—it’s a big digger. Things get even more complicated when the girls’ cousin Gloria comes over the next night. Gloria doesn’t see the constellation as a scoop or a truck; she sees it as a kite! Through all of this, Usha practices her cartwheels. Each of the girls is convinced that the others are seeing the stars in the wrong way, until Usha flops on the ground after a failed cartwheel and realizes that the constellation is, in fact, a scoop, a truck, and a kite, depending on its orientation. This latest edition to the Storytelling Math series features stunning illustrations of dark-skinned South Asian protagonists, with Gloria apparently biracial (Black/South Asian). The book bursts with charming images of endearing kids, and the story’s presentation of the girls’ varying, equally valid perspectives is a valuable tool for promoting empathy. However, its success at demonstrating the principle of orientation via a constellation is imperfect; any of the concrete examples in the backmatter would have worked better. Read for the illustrations and the characters (but not the math).

Spanish Bilingual Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-62354-217-7

Spanish Bilingual Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-62354-218-4

Ages: 3-6
Page count: 32
1/2 x 9 1/2