Digging a Hole to Heaven

Reviews / Votes

The narrative comes alive with colorful descriptions, such as stout timbers that groan and a "massive mountain...forever leaning in upon itself." Beautiful textured paintings rendered in the style of 19th-century Plains Indian drawings, with acrylic on wood panels, accompany the narrative. -- Toby Rajput, National Louis University, Skokie, IL * School Library Journal * STARRED REVIEW
"The vivid narrative is valuable in helping readers understand not just the facts but also the experiences of miners in late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century America." -- Carolyn Phelan * Booklist * The illustrations...are alive, historically accurate, expressive, and realistically rendered. -- Marion Mueller, Library Media Consultant, Rawhide Starr Academy, New London, Wisconsin * Library Media Connection * Nelson's acrylic-paint illustrations are gritty and realistic; more evocative still are the historical photographs that appear on nearly every page. A useful and thorough piece of work combining fiction and nonfiction, with an extensive author's note detailing the history of coal mining. * Kirkus Reviews *