Substitute Groundhog by Pat Miller

Genre: General fiction

Publishing information: Scholastic INC, 30 pages

Summary: Groundhog has to find a substitute for Groundhog's Day when he comes down with the flu. He decides to put up a wanted ad, but quickly finds out that everyone applying can't do the job. He needs someone who can go down in a dark hole, come up, and look for their shadow. Eagle, Mole, and Squirrel try out for the job but they can not do it. Armadillo comes to visit from Texas and says that he will be perfect for the job. Groundhog is nervous at first, because Armadillo is from Texas and does not know about their weather. Armadillo does have the right qualifications, so Groundhop lets him do it. Armadillo predicts there will be six more weeks of winter. Groundhog decides to go with Armadillo back to Texas because it is already spring there.

Reading level: 2.9

Interest level: K-2

Integration: The teacher could read this story before Groundhog's Day and talk about what the groundhog does. They could talk about the traditions that go along with that holiday and then have the students do some kind of groundhog art project. Older students could do a research project centered around Groundhog's Day.
The teacher could also use this book to talk about how only certain people can do certain jobs. Everyone has different qualifications for different jobs. The teacher could talk about the other animals and ask what the students think their jobs could be.
The teacher could also have the students talk about how this is a fiction story and what makes it fiction. Then they could read a book that is nonfiction about groundhogs and compare/contrast the two books on a poster board. The students could then write a story about groundhogs.

Potential problems: This book had a some difficult words for a level 2.9 book, some students may have trouble.