Peppered with quirky little boxed riddles (“What is a groundhog’s favorite book? HOLES, by Louis Sachar”), this look at the major hole-digging animal in the eastern US delivers the facts and fun it promises. Readers learn that “groundhogs are woodchucks are whistle pigs are marmots,” that groundhogs perform the important job of aerating earth and creating topsoil, and that “nothing gets wasted in nature.” Along the way, they are entertained by Billin-Frye’s lighthearted, comic watercolor illustrations of this denizen of the dirt in all his grime and glory, and by deftly delivered facts and figures (and party plans, complete with suggestions for games, shadow activities, food, and crafts) about groundhogs past and present and about the interesting evolution of Groundhog Day. A final page of riddles will leave readers grinning. (Picture book/nonfiction. 5-10)
