Groundhog Roundup II: How Groundhog's Garden Grew by Lynn Cherry

Author-illustrator Lynn Cherry, known for her notable celebration of rain forest ecology The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest, takes it down to a smaller, but equally beautiful piece of ecology, the homey vegetable garden in her How Groundhog's Garden Grew.

It's spring and Little Groundhog awakes hungry enough to make a buffet of his neighbor's garden. Squirrel points out that planting his own garden is a better plan for the future and begins to teach him the timeless tasks of the prudent gardener, gathering seeds and root vegetables, drying and saving them for the next growing season. After the two hibernate away the next winter, they get started making their garden grow, sowing seeds, setting out onions, potato eyes, carrot roots, and even perennial asparagus, providing for their future needs and preserving the environment around them.

What makes this picture book exceptional are Cherry's superb illustrations, done in realistic style with glowing colors. Double spreads of Groundhog and Squirrel in their garden alternate with smaller illustrations surrounded by incredibly realistic borders showing growing plants, from seeds to seedlings to mature, fruited plants. On the page discussing pollination another border features garden insects which are beneficial partners with the wind in aiding cultivation. Each page tells its own story, with a multitude of visual detail to be observed.

When the garden is mature, Squirrel teaches Groundhog to preserve his bounty by cooking and preserving some of the food, and the fruits of their labor are shared in a feast of thanksgiving, with the page borders showing the mature plants and their produce.

Not just a Groundhog Day story, How Groundhog's Garden Grew. is a great extension of the coming-of-spring tale, especially for those regions where February actually brings the beginning of spring planting time. The wonderful illustrations will inspire children during classroom plant cycle units, but the book offers anyone a chance to celebrate the wonder of growth and fruition.