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Publication Date: March 1, 2004 | Age Range: 4 and up
Mr. and Mrs. O'Leary were quite content on their small farm. There was just enough room for their cottage, their animals and their vegetable garden. Unfortunately, there was also a groundhog who loved vegetables just as much as the O'Learys did.
Will the O'Learys get to harvest anything but zucchini this year? Not if the groundhog has anything to do with it!
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Kindergarten-Grade 3 A delightful book especially right for reading around Groundhog's Day. During the winter, the O'Learys feast on the bounty from their summer garden, and Groundhog hibernates in his burrow home beneath the apple tree. The O'Learys know that the groundhog does not come forth on February 2 to forecast the weather but rather to check if the O'Leary garden is planted. Mr. O'Leary's plan to keep the groundhog out of their vegetables has one flaw, though, which is humorously revealed on the final page. Full-color illustrations in soft hues add to the aura of warmth and gentleness which permeates the story. A delight to read and share. Sure to join other Balian titles as a much-read favorite. Sharron McElmeel, Cedar Rapids Community Schools, Iowa Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
A delightful book especially right for reading around Groundhogs Day. During the winter, the O'Learys feast on the bounty from their summer garden, and Groundhog hibernates in his burrow home beneath the apple tree. The O'Learys know that the groundhog does not come forth on February 2 to forecast the weather but rather to check if the O'Leary garden is planted. Mr. O'Leary's plan to keep the groundhog out of their vegetables has one flaw, though, which is humorously revealed on the final page. Full-color illustrations in soft hues add to the aura of warmth and gentleness which permeate the story. A delight to read and share. Sure to join other Balian titles as a much-read favorite. --School Library Journal
I am a fan of Ms. Balian's books. This book is especially good for the fact that it gives a story that can be used in preschools and primary grades to teach about ground hog day, but also the telling of the seasons. I love the facial features of the ground hog. Worth reading again and again.
This is one of my VERY FAVORITE children's books. I love the story and colorful illustrations. My husband and I could be fitting examples of Mr. & Mrs. O'Leary, the couple in this story. It is a wonderful story to explicit the seasons to young children. I read it each year to 1st graders. The groundhog is such a adorable and cunning character...Ms. Balian does a sensational job with every book she writes..I only wish there were more of her books!
A groundhog lives on the O'Leary farm property. While Mrs. O'Leary knits and cooks, Mr. O'Leary spends the winter deciding what to plant in the garden when Spring comes. The O'Learys watch the groundhog come out of his burrow in February, and he sees his shadow, which means that Winter will last a lot longer. When Spring eventually arrives, the O'Learys plant their garden and put in a side row of zucchini squash specifically for the groundhog, so that he will leave the rest of the vegetables for the humans. Or will he?
Groundhog Day is just a tangent for this quaint story, which is more about life on a small farm. (And even though the owners are O'Learys, they thankfully own no cow.) The focus is on traditional roles and what each person or animal is naturally supposed to do. The text could thereby generate some discussion with young folks about those roles. The accompanying illustrations are clear and concise, and the farm and its residents are depicted in a whimsical manner.
