Review for Groundhog's Runaway Shadow by David Biedrzycki

Groundhog’s Runaway Shadow by David Biedrzycki

Charlesbridge Publishing

ISBN-13: 978-1580897341
Ages 4-8
32 Pages

Groundhog’s Runaway Shadow is a fascinating story about friendship and acceptance. 

Phil Groundhog was fast in his Hogzilla T-shirt. No matter where he went, how high he jumped, or when he laughed or cried, his shadow was always with him by his side. But as he grew into adulthood, he had more responsibilities and began looking at things in a different way. He was no longer the playful groundhog who had fun doing whatever he wanted. He now had a job and other responsibilities. 

It was then he began to realize how different he and his shadow were. They wanted different things. Phil liked vacations at the beach, while Shadow wanted to travel. Phil loved scary movies; Shadow was terrified of them. Even what they ate was opposite. It wasn’t until his shadow began to embarrass Phil that he decided that he could do without him.

Shadow left, and Phil was happy. Well, happy at first. He then began to miss his shadow. Where did he go? Phil didn’t have to wait long to find out. He saw his shadow traveling the world on TV and in the newspapers, experiencing some really great things, and all without him. Phil was envious. Here, in his life he was expected to live, he felt alone and dull. Why couldn’t he be adventurous as his shadow? 

This is a story about friendship and acceptance. In order for Phil to ever have a harmonious relationship with his shadow again, he must accept Shadow for who he is and not what he wants him to be, and Phil must also accept himself. Children of all ages will enjoy that message. They will also love the well-detailed in-depth graphics that bring this 24-page story together. The characters are realistic, colorful, and lifelike. Just like in his other books, Biedrzycki brings humor to this fast paced story. He also adds in some of his signature hidden details for readers to discover. Fans of Groundhog Day will enjoy this year after year. 

Groundhog's Runaway Shadow

Review for One Lonely Fish by Andy Mansfield

One Lonely Fish by Andy Mansfield and illustrated by Thomas Flintham

Bloomsbury USA Childrens

January 31, 2017
ISBN-13: 978-1681192017
Ages 2-5
22 Pages

 Children’s Picture Book ​General

One Lonely Fish is a counting book with a bite! With fun shaped pages children will be able to count from 1 through 10 in a fun and simple way.

Each page in this colorful book has ocean characters that are consistently hanging around as they watch the nature of life unfold in front of them. One lonely fish swims in the sea looking for food, but what he doesn’t realize is that he might be the food for someone else who is on the prowl. The odd shaped pages make it very clear that there is always a bigger fish out there.

Young children will delight in counting how many fish show up on the pages. As they get to 10 a surprise awaits them when all the fish, except for one, suddenly disappear.

Children will love the colorful and repetitive pictures in this 22 page picture book. Young children as early as 3 can easily grab the durable pages and begin to count the number of fish as well as to see the number on the page to recognize it.Children will also be able to visually see how the fish are getting bigger the higher the number is, which builds anticipation to the end where they meet the biggest fish of all.

Overall, this is a well-developed, simple concept book, that is visually appealing to young children, and who will want to reread over and over again to learn the concepts of counting and sizes.