Tundra Telegram: Books That Cast a Long Shadow

Hello, and thanks for joining us at Tundra Telegram, the column where we dig into the things badgering our readers – over and over –  and suggest a few books that might help Phil the time.

February 2 is Groundhog Day, the holiday observed in the United States and Canada that centers the intersection of rodents, sunlight and climate prediction. Based on a Pennsylvania Dutch superstition, legend has it that if a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day and sees its shadow due to clear weather, it will retreat to its den, and winter will continue for six weeks. If it does not see its shadow because the sky is cloudy, spring should arrive early. Groundhog Day is also the name of a 1993 feature film by Harold Ramis starring Bill Murray and Andie McDowell in which a self-obsessed weatherman repeats the same day over and over in a seemingly endless time loop.

So today, in honor of Groundhog Day, we’re recommending two types of books. For the youngest readers, we’ve got fistfuls of books about the furry creatures and the holiday they are named after. And since groundhogs so rarely feature in YA romance or thrillers or even fantasy novels, we’re also recommending books that feature time loops, with characters repeating certain days or time periods over and over. Rise and shine, readers, if you want books about Groundhog Day or like Groundhog Day, we’ve got you, babe.

PICTURE BOOKS

If young readers want the straight scoop on the holiday, they can’t do better than Groundhog Day! by Gail Gibbons. Originally released in 2007, and re-released in 2022 in a new and updated edition, the nonfiction picture book describes the tradition, its particular resonance in the Pennsylvania town of Punxsutawney, as well as a profusion of groundhog animal facts, to boot.

Instead of the weather, what if Groundhog Day was about the importance of friendship? Gregory’s Shadow by Don Freeman  (yes, Corduroy Don Freeman) answers that theoretical question. Gregory, who is a groundhog (as you may have guessed) is separated from his best friend Shadow. Not only does this leave poor Gregory sad and lonely, but their separation couldn’t have happened at a worse time. Tomorrow is Groundhog Day!

Similar in plot, but different in tone is Groundhog’s Runaway Shadow by David Biedrzycki. Phil (also a groundhog) and his shadow are, again, inseparable friends. But instead of separating against their wills, Phil and his shadow friend grow apart and even have a big argument, after which Shadow leaves to see the world. Will Phil and Shadow reunite? More than the length of winter hangs in the balance!

For those who are wistful that February 2 means we’re moving further and further from the winter holidays, there’s The Night Before Groundhog Day by Natasha Wing and Amy Wummer. A rhyming story told in the style of Clement C. Moore’s famous Christmas poem, this ode to Groundhog Day Eve is the perfect book to lull young readers to sleep on February 1.

Groundhog Gets It Wrong by Jess Townes and Nicole Miles calls into question the power of groundhog prediction. In this funny book, Groundhog is shocked and a bit ashamed when he discovers that he doesn’t have innate weather-predicting gifts, and his faulty prediction ruins the spring carnival. First he tries fixing the mistake by shoveling up the snow and hosing it away, but that only causes more problems! All that is left for Groundhog to do to make things right is learn a few things about meteorology.

A book that could help Groundhog with that is Groundhog Weather School by Joan Holub and Kristin Sorra. The book, which promises “Fun Facts About Weather and Groundhogs,” features a cast of groundhog students who learn all about the weather – and why we have different seasons – and whether some plants and animals can help predict the weather.

Groundhog gets a little frustrated that interest in him lasts but one day a year in Groundhog Gets a Say by Pamela C. Swallow and Denise Bankus, and he’s not afraid to tell people about it! Groundhog and some of his die-hard forest creature fans tells readers all about his wonderful qualities in this book, from how loud he can whistle, to how fast he cannot run, to how many reasons he has to use his teeth. This is a little ground squirrel with a big personality who is eager to share tons of groundhog animal facts.

What if a groundhog had a friend who wasn’t its shadow? And if the book had nothing to do with predicting the seasons? A Greyhound, A Groundhog by Emily Jenkins and Chris Appelhans is a tongue-twister-filled story about an unlikely friendship between two animals with similar names. And it’s as much fun to read out loud as it is to look at.

CHAPTER BOOKS & MIDDLE GRADE

Zoe inadvertently downloads a magical app that allows her to re-do moments of her life in Jen Calonita‘s novel The Retake, which shares a few commonalities with Groundhog Day. Given Zoe and her best friend Laura have been drifting apart for months, Zoe goes back to revisit middle-school moments with Laura – sleepovers and field trips and school projects – to see if she can diagnose the demise of their friendship and repair the rift.

Finn and the Time-Traveling Pajamas by Michael Buckley may veer more into intergalactic territory than either The Retake or Groundhog Day, but it does involve pajamas with time travelling powers. (And since Groundhog Day always starts in bed, can we say it does not?). he pajamas come into play when an older version of Finn tells (younger) Finn and his friends that he needs their help to win battles in their near future that he lost decades ago. So, though the scale and scope may be different, it’s very much a story about do-overs in life.

YOUNG ADULT

Perhaps a better analog for Again, Again by E. Lockhart is Sliding Doors, but who can resist the idea of suggesting a book that’s Groundhog Day if it were written by the author of We Were Liars? Adelaide is a girl devastated by heartbreak and grief and a family affected by addiction. But, through the magic of fiction, she is able to re-live her life, making different choices and watching the same events play out in multiple parallel worlds. (This is actually Lockhart’s second book on this Groundhog Day list, if you know your nom-de-plumes!)

Nephele makes her own Groundhog Day happen in Sarah Lariveire‘s Time Travel for Love and Profit, in which – after a disastrous freshman year of high school – she invents a time-travel app to try again. (Is this part of the Extended Retake Universe?) However, something goes very wrong. She creates a time loop, and is stuck reliving her ninth grade year over and over – for ten years – while the rest of the world goes on! Her former classmates grow up, get jobs and she gets stuck as a fourteen-year-old forever. (Or does she?)

Neverworld Wake by Marisha Pessl is like a horror-movie version of Groundhog Day (though not quite a Happy Death Day). After narrowly escaping a car accident on the stormy night of a one-year high school reunion, five friends find themselves in a rented mansion where a mysterious man makes a visit. He tells them the friends must unanimously decide which of the five of them will die that evening. Then the night repeats: all five live that same night again – and again. And the only way out, as the mysterious stranger reminds them, is for them to unanimously vote on who from their group shall die. (Consider us spooked!)

Tundra Telegram: Books That Killed the Radio Star

Hello, and thanks for joining us at Tundra Telegram, the column where we plug into the subjects we like all too well, and recommend some truly g-l-a-m-o-r-o-u-s books.

This past Sunday, social media platforms lit up like starships in reaction to the highs and lows of the 2022 edition of a video music award ceremony. Though the namesake of the awards no longer plays music videos – we note, curmudgeonly – all that Sunday night and the following Monday morning, everyone online was talking about new music, be it BLACKPINK, Lizzo, or the surprise Taylor Swift album announcement.

In honour of this celebration of music, we’re doing something a little different this week: we’ve recommended books – three in each of our usual categories – connected to the winners, performers, and moments from this past Weeknd‘s music video awards. So read on, because the music revolution will be televised!  

PICTURE BOOKS

Taylor Swift broke a record for most video of the year wins with her 2022 win for her epic “All Too Well: The Short Film.” And as we all remember, the song chronicles the rise and breakup of a romance, in which the imagery of a scarf (which may or may not be in the possession of Jake Gyllenhaal, and which The Verge has described as “the green dock light of our time“) takes centre stage. We can’t help but be reminded of the new seasonal classic Mistletoe by Tad Hills, in which winter-weather-loving mouse tries in vain to connect to her elephant friend who only wants to stay inside where it’s warm and cozy. Of course, the titular mouse knits a perfect holiday gift for her elephant friend. And you know that elephant would never forget it at his sister’s house.

Bad Bunny, the Puerto Rican trap and reggaeton artist and sometime wrestler (!), also made history becoming the first non-English-language act to win artist of the year. Whether it’s his international smash hits or unwavering support for the Latin LGBTQ community, there’s not much bad about Bad Bunny. But the same cannot be said for Richard Scarry’s Naughty Bunny, who scares his mother by blaring the TV too loudly, scribbles all over the walls, and kicks up a fuss when he should be napping. (Actually, he doesn’t sound that bad either.) But though he’s a naughty rabbit, he still manages to be loveable, like Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio – as both male and female backup dancers can attest!

Lil Nas X and Jack Harlow took home a few awards for their blockbuster video of “Industry Baby,” which sees the two rappers breaking out of a very special prison. The perfect picture book pairing would be Milo Imagines the World by Matt De La Peña and Christian Robinson, which follows Milo and his older sister on a long subway ride, during which Milo imagines and draws pictures of the lives of the other riders. Not only does it match the video’s creativity, but the subway ride Milo and his sister make is a weekend journey to visit their incarcerated mother.

CHAPTER BOOKS & MIDDLE GRADE

Jack Harlow also took home the trophy for “song of the summer,” and had one of the biggest performances of the night with his song “First Class.” And while the video may more be about a moneyed lifestyle than anything academic, there’s no first class more appealing than that in Narwhal’s School of Awesomeness by Ben Clanton. The graphic novel sees beloved sea buds Narwhal and Jelly becoming substitute teachers for the first time for a school of fish. Their education methods are unconventional, but full of fun and positivity. Jack Harlow may have his first class up in the sky, but does he have wafflematics class under the sea?

One of the most notable couples on the red carpet this past weekend was goofy rapper Yung Gravy and TikTok star Addison Raes mother (Sheri Nicole Easterling). We know one person who likes Gravy more than any Tiktokkers’ mothers, and that’s food-obsessed dachshund Weenie in Mad About Meatloaf, the first book in the Weenie featuring Frank and Beans graphic novels by Maureen Fergus and Alexandra Bye. After all, what is a gravy, but meatloaf sauce? And no one loves meatloaf more than Weenie, who hilariously conscripts his fellow pets Frank (a cat) and Beans (a hamster) on a convoluted quest to get some.

Singer and flautist Lizzo gave one of the night’s standout performances and won the award for “video for good” for her new hit “About Damn Time,” an uplifting jam that celebrates survival through hardships. A book that is also about time is Jen Calonita‘s The Retake, a time-travelling middle-grade novel about a girl, Zoe, who downloads a magical app on her phone that allows her to travel back in time to moments where she and her best friend Laura started to drift apart. Not only that, it looks at themes of social media pressures and bullying, something Lizzo knows a thing or two about, as well.

YOUNG ADULT

Few musical moments have made this writer feel older than the performance of Eminem and Snoop Dogg of their “From the D 2 to the LBC.” The two hip-hop artists performed as their Bored Ape avatars in the metaverse in a dystopian confluence of advertising for NFTs and Facebook products before they took the stage for real. If you like virtual worlds and avatars but are looking for a little more adventure and social commentary, you should check out Wab Kinew‘s Walking in Two Worlds. In it, a shy Indigenous teen on the Rez, Bugz, dominates in a multiplayer video game world called the Floraverse, but finds herself caught between her two realities.

A less bizarre but no less memorable stage performance came from K-Pop group BLACKPINK of their song, “Pink Venom.” And to match the sweet-but-deadly vibe of the song (and the group), we’re going with Danielle Vega‘s The Merciless. A group of popular girls with perfect hair perform brutal exorcisms on their classmates. Queen bees meet torture scenes – and with a pink cover, to boot! “Straight to ya’ dome” will have a completely different (and gruesome) meaning after reading.

Finally, Thai K-Pop rapper Lisa (one-fourth of BLACKPINK) won in the “Best K-Pop” category for “Lalisa.” Lisa’s youth, training with YG Entertainment, is not unlike that depicted in the YA novel Idol Gossip by Alexandra Leigh Young. In the book, Alice Choy is discovered by the fictional Top10 Entertainment and struggles to stay true to herself and overcome the haters in this insiders’ look at a K-Pop Academy, the kind at which Lisa herself became the first non-ethnically Korean trainee.

Happy reading, friends!

Tundra Book Group