Usha and the Big Digger

Okay, I LOVED THIS! I’m half Indian, and I never had kids books that featured someone who looked like me. I love the story and the illustrations so much!

This is a charming picture book about a three girls making stories out of the stars - which is in itself, a story as old as time! This would be a lovely book for teachers or parents teaching about shapes and constellations, or simply imagination.

I reviewed a copy made available by the publisher via Netgalley - Thank you very much for that!

First of all:
I love the fac that Usha is a brown girl with an obsession for daggers, considering that in many Asian cultures there are strict gender roles that sometimes even apply to children - so seeing Usha loving daggers can be empowering for girls that are just like her.
I also love, that both the author and the illustrator are in fact brown!

All in all this story is about children using maths and science in their daily adventures.

Usha is a little girl who lives in her own world and likes diggers..
One night she discovers her sister on the gras, who is looking at constellations and shows Usha one of them.
But Usha sees something completely different in the constellation and insists that she is right.
In the course of the story it teaches us that every person has a different view of things and that this sometimes depends on where the person stands at the moment.

I love the authors note at the end, that many cultures in this world see different motifs in the same constellations and also names some individual ones and what they see.

Usha and the Big Digger is one of the cutest children's books I've read so far.
The illustrations are wonderful and always go very well with the short texts, which, by the way, are very child-friendly and also accessible. Children would be able to follow this story.

I hope this beautiful story will be translated into German at some point, I would definitely like to read it to my future children.

There are hardly any books I like to rank more than the highest. If I could, I’d give this one 5+ stars. Why? I love, love, love the illustrations. The purple sky, the big-eyes Usha with her top knot, Aarti and Gloria with their cute hairstyles are just too good to describe.
I’ve been hoping for the publisher to approve my request ever since my friend reviewed this book. Finally, I got my hands on it and didn’t even wait for a second to read it.
Being a children’s book, it comes with a moral about how different perspectives see the same thing in a different light. Math is also involved but only towards the end.
The best part is the recurring attempts by Usha to master the cartwheel. Flippety Thump! Lol. I knew a kid who did the same in my house every evening. Boy, how she tried to get it right! Usha reminded me of the kid (now all grown up) and made me smile even wider. Do I need any more reasons to say that I love this one?
Thank you, NetGalley and Charlesbridge Publishing, for the ARC.

This is a beautiful book with a science-loving group of girls at its centre. If your child is interested in space, this would be a particularly good choice. The illustration style is bright and detailed, perfect for the story.

This book is beautiful. This book is fun. This book is clever. I loved it. I loved little Usha wanting to cartwheel and trying again and again. I loved her love of trucks. And I loved the girls learning to see things from each other's point of view (and the mathematics lesson on the importance of perspective that lead into). This is the absolute perfect book to sit and read with small kids whose spatial reasoning skills are in development because the fun and entertaining story and illustrations will keep them engaged through the more detailed educational matter in the last pages (after seeing the Big Digger with Usha who wouldn't want to learn about how other cultures around the world see the same stars?)

This ranks among the cutest books ever in terms of illustrations. And when the story matches the graphics, what more could you want!

Little Usha tries her best to see the Big Dipper as shown to her by her elder sister Aarti, but all she sees is a Big Digger. Another thing Usha tries hard to accomplish is a cartwheel. The entire story moves with her valiant attempts at conquering the cartwheel and convincing Aarti that what is in the sky is actually a Digger and not a Dipper.

The blurb states that the book involves the idea of math but it comes out very subtly. What you can actually see in the story is the idea of spatial sense and rotational mathematics. But regardless of whether there is explicit math or not, the book is perfect! I loved the three little girls (the third being their cousin Gloria), I adored the illustrations, I loved the sound of Usha’s attempted cartwheels (“Flippety Thump!“ :D :D :D ), I loved every single thing in the gem of a book.

The icing on the cake? Indian-American characters. Yippee!

Heartily recommend this to all the little ones out there. Go attempt cartwheels, discover your own versions of constellations, enjoy the magic of math, and read this book!

Thank you, NetGalley and Charlesbridge, for the Advanced Review Copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Part of a series well-constructed in the way it uses simple stories of kids from around the world to show off mathematical lessons, this one has some girls star-gazing from their garden at night. One sees the Big Dipper, but our heroine does love her plastic dumper trucks, and is insistent that it's the Big DIGGER. A third sees something else. Once again there's almost a sub-plot, which is quite remarkable considering how brief these books are – here, our main character's inability at doing cartwheels. The lesson is once more worn very lightly, and rotation, patterns and suchlike all come into play if you want to keep up the educational side. The biggest lesson for me was the multiple ways the world's cultures have seen the same seven stars. And here's four more dazzlers from me, too.

OH. MY. GOSH. SO. FREAKING. CUUUUUUUUUUUUUTE. Every single page of this book was just so filled with joy and dance and cartwheels and stars. The artwork in this kind of reminded me of She's Charmed and Dangerous, a card game I played when I was really little. Which is to say that I *adored* the artwork in this.

A great book about stars and perspectives for young kids!

Have you ever looked up at the constellations in the sky and scratched your head because you can't possibly see how the ancients saw Cassiopeia and her chair in those bunch of stars up there.

That is Usha's problem. Because she is lying a different way than her sister, she doesn't see the Big Dipper, but a Big Digger, with the scoop part of the constellation, being the the body of the digger.

Then, when her cousins come out, they see a kite, because they are lying a different way.

It is all about how viewpoint changes things, although the STEM research says that this is how to learn about geometry and spatial relationships.

<em> Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.</em>

What you see is all a matter of perspective. Usha learns this when she and her family lie down to gaze at the stars and each person sees something different. The illustrations are beautiful and help tell the story of the Big Digger. I enjoyed that there were facts about astrology and math at the end.

4 stars

In this extremely adorable and educational picture book, Usha and her big sister, Aarti, do some stargazing and some awesome prep for future careers in STEM! The illustrations are appealing and clear, and the additions to the end of the text provide some good, entry-level insight into math and astronomy.

I do wish there was a bit more character development happening here, even considering the genre, but this is a wonderful and entertaining read nonetheless!

This was so CUTE! The first sentence definitely caught me: Usha loved trucks. People, it is so nice to see that Usha loves trucks. I just remember my parents telling me that I should play with dolls and not trucks/cars. I also admire Usha's determination to master the cartwheel - something I still can't do. And the Big Dipper! Digger! Whatever you think it is. The author does a great job in reminding us that it's all about perspectives. Everyone sees things from different povs. Aside from the story, the illustrations! Absolutely beautiful! The vibrant colours, art style - all well done. Definitely going to buy this for myself.

Thanks to Charlesbridge Publishing + NetGalley for the e-advance copy of USHA AND THE BIG DIGGER by Amitha Jagannath Knight, illustrated by Sandhya Prabhat. Expected pub date August 3, 2021.


Such an adorable and fun book that I absolutely love and no doubt, is perfect for reading and rereading and rereading. Family, perspective and point of view, child enthusiasm, and STEM abound in "Usha and the Big Digger". Usha and her sister and cousin each view the constellation as a big dipper, big digger, and kite - it was so fun to think about each of their perspectives and know children will be able to relate and get excited about figuring out what they can see in the night sky. Also, the illustrations are GORGEOUS. A definite must for all kinds of libraries.

Charming. Parents and kids alike will enjoy making all the fun sound effects. A wonderful way to teach kids about constellations and groups of stars. A delight in its unapologetic diversity. In addition, has the aspect of discussing math and rotation of objects that helps introduce this concept at an early age.

Suuuuuuper cute! Love the illustrations, love that Usha is so interested in the dipper and teaching others about it. My first reaction was 'now THIS is more like it!' Loved this book! I would love a version in a board book with less text for smaller kiddos, too!

If you have spent any time with little ones, you know they believe one thing with ferocious spirit: they are always right. Ulsa and the Big Digger takes us on a stargazing journey filled with big emotions and frustrations. Ulsa and her crew look at the same set of stars but each see something different. I loved that the end of the book offered some great building and math activities that would correlate beautifully with a read aloud of the story. It would be a welcome addition to both classrooms and homes to help children develop social emotional skills, as well as acceptance of alternate points of view.

An adorable story of a little girl who sees her favorite truck, a big digger, in the sky when her big sister points out the big dipper. Another friend's input and a cartwheeling change of perspective help the sisters settle their argument and help each other out. Adorable, bright illustrations and great mathematical knowledge for beginning astronomers.

Usha loves trucks. So when her sister shows her The Big Dipper in the starry night sky, Usha sees a BIG DIGGER instead. Her cousin sees a kite. She becomes frustrated that no one else can she what she sees, until she looks at things from another perspective and understands what they see. This is a wonderful book about using your imagination and seeing different perspectives, accompanied by bold and colorful cartoonish illustrations that emphasize purples and pink hues. It contains activities in the back that parents or teachers can use to help children explore the concepts in the story.

Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated in any other fashion for the review and the opinions reflected below are entirely my own. Special thanks to the publisher and author for providing the copy.

Usha loves playing with trucks, and she looks up to her big sister. When her sister, Aarti, tries to show her the big dipper in the night sky, she can’t understand why Aarti doesn’t seem to understand it is really a big digger. The sisters just can’t seem to agree or see the other’s point of view. When a cousin comes to visit, she sees something else entirely. Usha will need to get some perspective in order to see what everyone else is talking about, but at the end of the day, everyone has their eyes opened.

We loved Amitha Jagannath Knight’s Usha and the Big Digger. With Indian American characters and a girl who loves trucks, and girls involved with astronomy, this book has some representation cred. The book is a great story of viewing things from different perspectives and looking at things from the viewpoint of others. The illustrations are bright and add to the story.

While Usha's sister sees the Big Dipper, Usha sees the Big Digger! This is a cute look at pattern recognition and how different people have alternative perspectives.
Love the art and the choice of colors!

Usha and the Big Digger. At first, I thought this will be a book of cars, trucks, and so. But it is actually a book on different perspective. While her sister saw a Big Dipper, Usha saw a Big Digger. A very interesting book about how we see things and other see the same thing. Sometimes we need to be align to see it just like other.

This was so freaking cute!! The illustrations were absolutely GORGEOUS I want to frame them and put them up on my wall. I’m Indian and I loved seeing a children’s book with Indian main characters that didn’t just revolve around “teaching diversity.” I would’ve loved to have a book like this as a kid. Turns out Indian people can be main characters without the entire narrative centering around the fact that they’re Indian. Casual representation is so so important which I didn’t have as a kid and it makes me so happy knowing that kids have books like these nowadays where they can see themselves! I even laughed when they were turning their heads to see the dipper and the digger and the kite. If I saw this at the store I would definitely get it for one of my little cousins

Fantastic book that shows perseverance and seeing things from other perspectives. It also had great illustrations!

My 3 year old daughter loved this book! The story was a great way of introducing astronomy while also incorporating the patience needed to learn a physical skill like cartwheels.

I especially loved the illustrations. The jewel tone color palette throughout was really beautiful. I’m always looking for books that show representation and this really highlighted that beautifully with a story that can be universal for all kids.

What a lovely book for showing different people's points of views and how to share and understand them. I love the facts at the end too and how this book can be educational about the stars.

Usha and her sisters enjoy looking at the stars, but they each see something different in the constellations - the Big Dipper, a Big Digger, or a kite. At first there is anger when the sisters disagree on the image in the stars, but by changing their perspective they learn that each of them is seeing the stars differently and not simply refusing to see what each sister chooses to.

This book is a WONDERFUL intro for several lessons. Scientifically, it talks about constellations and their orientation in the sky. Culturally, it shows how some nations may use the stars to tell different legends than those we are familiar with. Personally, it helps children to understand that their perspective isn't always the only "right" one. A fantastic book for kids to experience!

Usha and the Big Digger is a delightful picture book by Amitha Jagannath Knight. Though it is meant for 3–6-year-old children, I had a lot of fun reading it. So, I guess, this book is not just for kids!

It’s the story of a little American-Indian child Usha who loves playing with trucks. She wants to cartwheel, and doesn’t give up despite failing innumerable times. At night, Usha and her sister Aarti are lying on the grass under the star-lit sly, but both see different things when they look at the twinkling stars. To Aarti, the group of stars is Big Dipper; while in Usha’s eyes they are nothing but the Big Digger. Things turn interesting when their cousin Gloria arrives with a brand-new truck for Usha. It baffled Usha and Aarti when the same group of stars look like a kite to Gloria. It upsets Usha when others cannot see the Big Digger, but thankfully she is able to resolve their argument and the three girls are happy once again.

It’s impossible to not fall in love with this book. Usha is an adorable child, and her attempts at trying to master at cartwheel are delightful. Sandhya Prabhat’s illustrations are cute, diverse and inclusive. The limited texts make it easier for children to understand without losing interest.
This is a wonderful resource to introduce the concept of spatial reasoning, numbers, shapes and orientation to small children. It also sends across the message of appreciating other’s perspectives and teaches children that our perceptions vary depending on our position. The sibling relationship and familial ties comes across beautifully.

There are activities at the end encouraging children to explore math and understand spatial concepts in a fun manner.

I absolutely adored Usha and the Big Digger and would recommend it wholeheartedly!

Thank you, NetGalley and Charlesbridge Publishing Inc., for the Advanced Review Copy of the book in exchange for an honest review

This was so adorable. This could be the best gift for children and middle graders!
I loved everything in this. The illustration was so adorable. Usha and Aarti's relationship was really cute!
Thank you Netgally for providing me the ARC

Where do I even begin with how much I love love love this story? First, I love that it features a little girl who loves trucks and crashing things -- and cartwheels. We need more girls who love trucks, science, etc, and we need them in picture books that little ones can read like this one. Second, I love the way Usha and her family explore the stores, drawing attention to space. All girls, all into science :) Finally, I love the way that it encourages to see things from different perspectives, by showing how constellations can all look differently to different people.

The illustrations and typography are also beautiful and perfect for the story, balancing each other nicely. I highly recommend!

This book is simply gorgeous -- I would buy it for the color scheme alone. BUT, it's also an adorable story about two sisters and their cousin and what they see when they look up at the stars. AND there are STEM activities in the back to extend the fun and learning.

Thank you to NetGalley and Charlesbridge Publishing for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review. <i>Usha and the Big Digger</i> is scheduled for release on August 3rd, 2021.

Usha and the Big Digger is a fun and educational story about the stars and the importance of different perspectives. Usha’s big sister, Aarti, tries to teach Usha about the Big Dipper but Usha can’t see it! She can only see the Big Digger, seven stars that make the shape of a truck with a giant scoop attached. But then their cousin Gloria comes over and she sees a kite so all three girls are left wondering why nobody else sees their shape.

I absolutely adore Sandhya Prabhat’s illustration so much I just can’t get over how fun and cute and colorful every page is! This story has two great lessons in it: (1) learn to look at things from other perspectives and (2) if you really wanna do something don’t let a few falls discourage you.

This book is great for kids who wanna flex their brand new reading abilities, kids still learning to read, and itty bitty babies who are nowhere close to reading on their own because it’s both mentally and visually stimulating. I would definitely recommend. Plus it’s a great choice to make sure the kids in your life start off their lives with diverse bookshelves.

This book would be good for teachers or educators to ready to young children. I liked that it included three young minority girls and talked about science related subjects. It was engaging and the pictures were creative and well done. I highly recommend this book to young children.

Usha is a young girl who loves trucks. Right from the start of the book, I was silently cheering. I wish there was a book like this when I was a young girl. It is powerful for a child to see themselves represented in all forms of media. It is also powerful for young girls to see protagonists that go against terrible stereotypes. Of course girls can play with trucks and transport, just like Usha.

Usha has a big sister, Aarti, who is stargazing. She shows her the Big Dipper, which Usha sees as the Big Digger. It's wonderful that the author chose to explore this idea that there is no right and wrong, but instead encouraging Usha, Aarti & their cousin Gloria, to reflect what they can see in their own eyes. It's lovely for girls to develop a stronger interest in STEM from a younger age, and books like this will make it more accessible to a younger age group.

While I don't have a daughter, my young sons enjoyed reading this book with me. Despite the cartwheels and it only having female characters, they didn't feel it was in any way a book targeted to girls. Instead, they enjoyed seeing an Indian child as the main protagonist and the overall concept of the book. Now they've asked me to show them the Big Dipper to see what they can see like Usha.

Thank you, NetGalley and Charlesbridge, for the Advanced Review Copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I read this book at least four times.

Usha and the Big Dipper is a story of two sisters as they try to decipher the images presented in the stars. This book uses math, vivid imagery, bright colors, and striking illustrations to take the reader on a journey of imagination. Understanding that Math and Science are areas of exploration and experiments, which this book showcased. It's a great way to show just how fun and adventurous Math can be.

Thank you to NetGalley and Charlesbridge for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC!

This is a book about perspective and imagination. It makes understanding other and their viewpoint fun.

A huge thanks to the publisher for my e-ARC in exchange for a honest review .

The story follows Little Usha who doesn't see the big dipper when she looks at the sky like her sister .The book highlights perspectives and how people can see things differently. Thoroughly enjoyed this book with it's cute illustrations and strong themes.

Aarti has seen the Big Dipper in the sky. But Usha thinks it is a Big Digger. Or is it a Kite, as Gloria seems to think?

Usha and the Big Digger is a wonderful, wonderful book that teaches children the importance of spatial relationships - and of course, cartwheels - in a colourful and subtle manner. The Indian American characters were a bonus. My son and I loved the illustrations and my son was doing cartwheels all over the house with a "Flippety-Thump!"

This book made me wish I was a child with their unlimited imagination and an unquenchable thirst for knowledge.

5 stars. Would have given 10 if it were possible.

Thanks to Netgalley and Charlesbridge for the ARC.

Free ARC from NetGalley.

Usha and the Big Digger is about Usha and her sister looking up at the stars and making stories about what they see. When they see the Big Digger they see totally different things, and their cousin sees a third thing! They realize it's because they are watching it in different angles - laying on the ground.

This is BEAUTIFUL! And a good story. I remember doing this with the skies in summer when i was a kid, so this is something really relatable for kids. And teaches about seeing things differently because of different perspective.

#UshaandtheBigDigger #NetGalley

This picture book features vibrant, colorful illustrations, a charming main character who loves diggers, and information about constellations. The story focuses on how different people see different things in the stars, and even though the book includes considerable conflict between Usha and her sister, the book resolves happily, with different characters seeing how they can conceptualize multiple different shapes in the stars.

The author's note at the end shares more information about astronomy and about the different ways that cultures in different parts of the world have seen and conceptualized the Big Dipper. This is a great book for people who are interested in STEM books for kids, and the South Asian Indian / American element is excellent as well.

This story is beautifully well done. Sisters Usha and Aarti see different things when they look up at the stars. Aarti sees the Big Dipper whereas Usha sees the Big Digger (and cousin Gloria sees the Big Kite) this wonderful story not only shows the importance of valuing others' perspectives, it serves as an introduction to geometry, spatial relationships and astrology. Featuring Indian American characters this story serves as a celebration of diversity and would be a valued addition to any collection. The note about constellations and cultures is fascinating and is a wonderful enhancement to the story.

Special thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Usha and the Big Digger is a really sweet story with definite educational opportunities alongside it. Not only do we get to see kids just being kids through these vibrant illustrations, we also get to take a look at the stars and explore the idea of both cultural perspective and geometric perspective. The endnotes are helpful too. The story is super cute, there's lots of learning opportunity, and the pictures are great to look at. I'm also glad we're getting to see more kidlit about subjects like math and astronomy be about girls and POC and not just white boys. Recommended for sure!

Lovely little book which is perfect for developing a broader and more diverse library in a school or for an individual child. Own voices are hugely important and it was nice to see this in an accessible format for children.
Illustrations are stunning, would definitely appeal to children

Usha views the world in a different way as everyone else. She loves truck and trucks is what she sees in the sky made of stars. Usha and the Big Digger is an awesome way to introduce young children to constellation and also have them decide what they see. Then discuss how everyone saw their own image. Knight goes beyond teaching the night sky but also extends to different perspectives and understanding them. Allow children to understand that there are differences in point of views. The vivid colors of the illustrations and clear simple sentence structure will allow children of all ages to enjoy this book.

This is such a cute book! The intention is to help teach math skills, but this could definitely also be used as a book to teach problem solving skills and perspective taking! Usha, her sister, and her cousin all see different things in the sky until they look at the sky from each other's perspectives.

I love the resources in the back as well! Not many children's books have teaching guides attached!

ARC received from NetGalley

Cuteness multiplied, well, powered to the nth degree actually – those words would sum up this book. But it is not just cuteness, both in the sweet story and the gorgeous illustrations; we learn so much too – the concepts of diversity, differing perspectives and learning from them, spatial reasoning, the try-try-and-try-again cartwheels, imaginations, learning math through doing, and of course the Big Digger (the Big Dipper? the Saptarishi? those seven stars?)

Love how everything comes together in the end, and once again, love the artwork in this book! While it is aimed towards young readers, anyone and everyone will surely delight in reading this book.

Overall, a MUST-READ (many times over) cuteness/learning-galore book, and a great gift for all young (and even older) readers!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital review copy of the book.

The illustration is amazing. The characters are wonderful and different. I love that this book while a joy to read was also educational. Kids can learn interesting things and never know they are being taught. This story also teaches that different people can see the same thing (objects) in many different ways depending on their prospective. It teaches that just because someone doesn't see things your way doesn't make them wrong & you right. If both keep open mind they can learn what the other see's and why and learn to see things from different points of view. I will be getting for my library.