Groundhog's Runaway Shadow

by David Biedrzycki

David Biedrzycki (Illustrator)

Where does the groundhog's shadow go?

Phil and his shadow do everything together. But where Phil is steady, predictable, and a little boring, Shadow is adventurous, freewheeling—even a bit rude. So they don't get along so well anymore. Fed up, the two have a falling-out, and Shadow runs off to see the world.

Being friends isn't always easy. True friends, however, always find their way back to each other. If the groundhog doesn’t see its shadow come February 2nd, young readers will have an idea of where it might be, based on this heartwarming laugh-out-loud story accompanied by David Biedrzycki’s hilarious illustrations.

• ISBN10: 1623541123
• ISBN13: 9781623541125
• Publish Date: 3 December 2019 (first published 6 December 2016)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Charlesbridge Publishing,U.S.
• Imprint: Imagine Publishing, Inc
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 32
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781623541125

Reviews

[Joni Reads]

Received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this adorable book about a little groundhog whose shadow is always there for him until one day they have a disagreement and his shadow runs away!

I found myself really into the story as well as my children. We all really enjoyed reading about the adventures this little groundhog went on with and without his shadow. There is a little lesson in there about controlling your anger and how to handle a situation where you feel frustrated without exploding and yelling as someone and I really liked how that lesson seemed to be thrown in there instead of it being a preachy kind of book because let's face it, kids can tell when you are trying to teach them something.
I opened up a discussion with my 8 year old about the book to see what she thought the groundhog could have done differently to handle being upset with his shadow and I really liked listening to her thoughts. We discussed different ideas for ways to cool down and not yell at someone and I admit, I can be a bit short with my kids at time so there was a bit of a lesson in there for me as well.

In terms of repeatability I see this being a book that I can go back to, especially on those frustrating days when you just need a little reminder to be patient and to be kind. Definitely a 5 star book. I hope to see Grounghog in more books and I will keep an eye out for this author as well.