Our BLG book this week was Brownie Groundhog and the Wintry Surprise written by Susan Blackaby and illustrated by Carmen Segovia

What a delightful winter story – full of humour, charm and spectacular surprises. These characters are irresistibly wonderful and it is difficult to judge even possible mischievous intentions when the friends arrange such a special surprise for Brownie Groundhog. She simply must be woken from her winter sleep to witness it! Poor Brownie eventually gets back to her long slumber. But first there are lights, feasting and pie. Makes one want to set out to a snowy meadow for an enchanting winter party similar to the one beautifully depicted in this story.

For more story details, read these student reviews.

Student reviewers respond:

Grace rates this book 5/5 and writes: My favourite part was when Brownie said to Fox, “Don’t eat Bunny, she’s company.” I loved the illustrations. They were so good. My favourite pie is lemon meringue – it’s so yummy. My favourite character was Brownie but I also liked all of the personalities. The tree was colourful and full of light. It was a fantastic book. 

Ibtihal rates this book 5/5 and writes: I liked the part when they did the big feast. It was funny when Brownie was grumbling. The tree has a lot of decorations. There were so many good characters in the book. The author did an amazing job with the book. My favourite character is the rabbit because she is responsible and funny and cute. 

Joeli rates this book 4/5 and writes: Why fox did not make his own house instead of just stealing? Or just cut his tail and make it to a coat? Or he can just cut all his fur including his tail to make a very fluffy coat. My favourite character is the bunny because he is tiny.

Andrew rates this book 3/5 and writes: I like the tree. I like pie. My favourite part was the pie. They made a big surprise for Brownie. They had a good feast. My favourite character is the fox. I like the fox because he’s funny. The bunny was honest and nice. The fox was stealing Brownie’s stuff but he was creative. 

Soleen rates this book 5/5 and writes: I enjoyed the book because it was funny. I liked the characters because the bunny was so responsible. I liked the surprise because it was so beautiful. 

Kevin rates this book 5/5 and writes: I noticed that they eat a picnic in the park. My favourite pie is all the pie. I like the sign is called “Do Not Disturb!” They work hard on the tree and the tree looks full of light. The fox is really sneaky. The bunny was really honest and nice. Brownie is a groundhog and when he was sleeping, he was grumbling, mumbling and saying words.

Vicky rates this book 5/5 and writes: The fox is a thief. He did not understand what Brownie said. But when he made the tree, it was a big surprise. My favourite pie is apple pie. My favourite characters are Fox and Bunny because the fox thought Brownie let him use everything but Bunny said no, it’s not that. In the end, Brownie forgave them because it was a surprise and it was sweet. 

Jerry rates this book 4/5 and writes: The big surprise for Brownie is a big decorated tree. Fox and Bunny set it up for Brownie because Fox wanted to make Brownie happy. They they had a party and some crackers. The the party was done. Brownie went to bed and Bunny said, “That was fun” and Bunny gave Fox a cake. Then they all ate together. 

Hyo Min rates this book 5/5 and writes: My favourite part was Brownie was talking funny. I love when Fox and Rabbit made a surprise. It was a great book. Why did they make a surprise? I loved the book. My favourite character was Rabbit because he said no to the fox. Bunny was more responsible than Fox. Maybe it was a winter party.

Heman rates this book 4/5 and writes: My favourite part is when the fox, the Rabbit and Brownie were eating pie. I liked when Brownie saw the winter surprise. I think the Bunny was responsible and I think the fox was creative (when he decorated the tree). Brownie was sleeping and the fox asked “Can we borrow the ladder?” Brownie said in a very mumbly voice, “Goey wave slop blubbering bee” and he thought she said, “You can use whatever you want.” Bunny thought she said, “Go away, stop bothering me.” What is the bunny and fox’s names? I wonder why the author didn’t give them names.

We reviewed another title by this author/illustrator team here: Brownie Groundhog and the February Fox. 

How lucky are we to have a reader from BLG law firm come in every week and read to us! The volunteer readers in our room are a big part of every Wednesday morning. This is the first book review of a new BLG book. Check back weekly for the newest titles introduced to Division 5!

Our book this past week was read by Deborah.  Brownie Groundhog and the February Fox by Susan Blackaby is a lovely book about the impatient wait for spring. Beautifully illustrated by Carmen Segovia, an artist from Barcelona who had exhibited the sketches of our little groundhog at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair Illustrators Exhibition.The paintings in this book actually inspired the story which was written in order to bring these characters to life!

There is a charming interaction between the fox and the groundhog in this story. Brownie needs to keep the fox busy and distracted enough to forget about trying to eat her.

“You can’t eat yet,” she said. “You haven’t worked up an appetite.”

“I feel appetitey,” said the fox.

“Well, you aren’t,” said Brownie. “Why don’t you clear the snow off the pond? That might do the trick.”

Our student reviewers report:

Ricky: I liked when the fox was trying to eat the groundhog but the groundhog kept tricking the fox.  At first, I thought the groundhog didn’t know that the fox wanted to eat him but she actually did. I thought she was just playing.

Jena: I liked how Brownie the Groundhog distracted the fox so he wouldn’t eat him – like taking him skating on the pond.