Groundhog Day is right around the corner, so I’m rounding up some fun Groundhog Day picture books to use with kids! Groundhog Day takes place on February 2nd each year in the United States and Canada — and if you’re like me and have to Google the old wives’ tale every year, here’s a quick refresher. If the groundhog sees its shadow, it gets scared and heads back into its den for six more weeks of winter. If it doesn’t see its shadow, spring arrives early!
Honestly, it’s just another fun reason to celebrate in speech therapy, the classroom, or at home. I’ve always loved incorporating small holidays into learning activities during the winter months. If you’re a parent, teacher, or SLP looking for Groundhog Day picture books to read with kids, I’ve got you — here’s a round-up of my favorites.
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Groundhog Day Read Alouds for Kids
Groundhog Gets a Say by Pamela Curtis Swallow
I love fun facts and this book is it! The fun facts are woven in seamlessly and naturally, unlike some non-fiction books. This book starts out on Groundhog Day and Groundhog is getting all of the attention. Squirrel and Crow are not so impressed by him and feel like Groundhog is getting a big head. The next day, Groundhog is disgruntled because nobody cares about him anymore. He complains he should get an entire month and not just one day. He starts to tell Squirrel and Crow about groundhogs and at first they can care less. As the story goes on, Squirrel and Crow’s cynicism starts to melt away and they be engrossed in what Groundhog has to stay and want to learn more and more. Super cute! You can use this book to target:
- Persuasive Language – By the end of the book, Groundhog Appreciation Month becomes a thing! haha
- Compare/Contrast – Compare groundhogs to other animals. He tells Squirrel that he’s a distance cousin, so you can compare squirrels and groundhogs!
- Describing – What a wonderful book to work on describing. Groundhog essentially spends the entire book describing himself!
The Night Before Groundhog Day by Natasha Wing
I love this series by Wing. I’ve blogged about many of these books over the years and this is a great one to add to your collection. They’re great for young readers! It’s a remix of the classic The Night Before Christmas story, but with Groundhog Day! It’s cute and can be used to target:
- Rhyming
- Cause/Effect – What happens if he sees his shadow? What if he doesn’t?
- Vocabulary – This book has lots of rich vocabulary. Examples: Den, chant, prediction, forecast, burrow, bundle, climate
- Sequencing
Gregory’s Shadow by Don Freeman
This is by the same author as Corduroy, so you already know it’s going to be a precious story. Gregory is best friends with his shadow, but when they go outside he sees a scarecrow’s shadow and gets scared and runs back into his burrow & leaves his shadow behind! Shadow gets lost and then Gregory musters up the bravery to go look for his friend. It’s really cute and has a great message. You can use this book to target:
- Social Skills – Discuss how Gregory is a good friend and the qualities of good friends. You can also tackle emotions: happy, sad, scared, brave, etc
- Cause/Effect
- /r/ blends – Gregory, groundhog, friend, ground, bright, brave, scarecrow, etc
Groundhog Day by Gail Gibbons
Gail Gibbons books are so informational and are a great way to incorporate non-fiction texts into the speech room. This book shares the story of how Groundhog Day began and gives lots of great information about groundhogs! One really cool thing I learned in this book is that groundhog’s burrows consist of different rooms (bathroom chamber, food chamber, sleeping chamber)! Use this book to target:
- Compare/contrast – Talk about groundhog’s homes and our homes! Compare the groundhog to other hibernating animals, etc
- WH Questions – Where do groundhog’s live? What do they do? When is Groundhog Day? How is Groundhog Day celebrated?
- Summarization
Groundhog Day Book Companion Activities
Groundhug Day by Anne Marie Pace
Moose is planning a Valentine’s Day party and wants to ensure that Groundhog will attend. He doesn’t want him to see his shadow, otherwise he’ll go back into his burrow for six more weeks and miss the fun! Alas, he does see his shadow and wants to sleep for six more weeks. They hug and Groundhog comes out for St. Patrick’s Day, but guess who’s going to miss that party? Rabbit (he’s busy preparing for Easter). It’s an adorable book and can be used for Valentine’s Day as well! Use this book to target:
- When questions
- Social Skills – The characters show so many great friendship qualities!
- Party Planning – This is a great exercise for executive functioning skills!
This book is so cute that I had to create a literature flip book companion for it! It addresses comparing and contrasting, sequencing, story elements, and comprehension. It also includes a fun writing prompt: Why do the animals call it Groundhug Day? This is one of my favorite Groundhog Day picture books!
You can find this resource in my February Literature Flip Books (2nd Edition), as part of my year-long bundle (75% off), or inside my membership, The Speech is Sweet Club for pediatric speech-language pathologists. The membership features all my past and future book companions.
Substitute Groundhog by Pat Miller
Amazon Link Here by Pat Miller
This is one of my favorite’s and highly recommend this one! This will be a great addition to your children’s books library! Groundhog wakes up sick, so he has to find a substitute. Many animals around the forest stop by his burrow to try out for the job. Each one tries and there is a problem. For instance, Mole doesn’t see well, Eagle can’t fit in the burrow, Bear fell asleep, etc. Finally, a pluckly armadillo applies for the job and he’s perfect! Armadillo sees his shadow and there’s six more weeks of winter, so Groundhog packs up and goes to Texas with Armadillo! So cute! Use this book to target:
- Compare/contrast – Compare Groundhog with the other animals and explain why Armadillo was the perfect substitute!
- Problem Solving
- WH Questions
I also have an interactive flip book companion for this book! It targets character traits, sequencing, and WH-questions, and it’s included in the February Literature Flip Books (2nd Edition), my year-long bundle, and The Speech is Sweet Club.
Grumpy Groundhog by Maureen Wright
Groundhog is a little grumpy. The mayor is outside asking him to come out to celebrate Groundhog Day, but we doesn’t want to wake up. I can definitely relate. haha! I’m not a morning person either. The people of the town decide to give him things to get him excited to get out of bed – a newspaper, then breakfast, a nice pair of slippers, etc. He finally comes out after they give a cool pair of sunglasses. This is a super cute story! You can use this book to target:
- Sequencing – This book lends itself so well to working on this skill! First, they give him a newspaper and then breakfast in bed.
- Problem/Solution – The mayor has a problem and everybody comes together to help him solve it!
- Rhyming – This book is written in rhyme.
I created an AAC and literacy book companion for this story! It features a story board, retelling board, retelling strips, comprehension questions, communication pictures, and a file folder game. You can find it in February AAC and Literacy (2nd Edition), as part of my year-long bundle, or in my membership.
Groundhog Day may be a small holiday, but it’s a fun way to add variety to winter reading routines. Whether you’re reading at home, in the classroom, or during speech therapy sessions, these Groundhog Day picture books offer plenty of opportunities for meaningful conversations, comprehension practice, and language development.
Looking for more Groundhog Day activities? Check out this Pronoun Freebie! This is a fun activity to add to your Groundhog Day Unit!
I hope we get an early spring! Thank you for stopping by!
