Looking at the sale books at work, I found Brownie Groundhog and the Wintery Surprise. As Groundhogs day gets so little love, I figured this might be one of the few books out there about this fun holiday.
Spoiler: It’s not.
Susan Blackaby’s story is about three friends who spend the day having a picnic in late December, only at the end, to have Brownie (a groundhog) go off for her winter’s nap. She tells her friends the fox and the rabbit, she will see them in the spring, do not disturb her and tells Fox not to eat Rabbit. She is company. But the fox and rabbit miss their friend so much, they break into her home, take her things, disturb her and eventually wake her up.
Even though it all worked out in the end with a lovely winter surprise and a winter feast, the fact Fox was using Brownie’s things without her permission is off putting. Sure kids, go ahead, ignore the wishes of your friends, steal their stuff and you’ll be forgiven if there is a nice surprise and food. Maybe not the lesson we want to be teaching. Just saying….
The only remediable quality is that the illustrations are lovely. Carmen Segovia created some lovely colors and images. The colors compliment and pop off the wintery landscape. The ending has a warmth to it as well.
Perhaps, if I had read the first book, Brownie Groundhog and the February Fox, I might have understood a few things. However, taken by itself, sadly this is not a book I will be recommending.
