The Attack of the Frozen Woodchucks

Frozen Woodchucks is not the kind of subject I read many books about. In fact, I wasn’t at all certain that I knew what a woodchuck was, much less why one would be frozen. So it was with some relucatance that I agreed to do a Mother Talk book Review on Dan Elish’s new book “The Attack of the Frozen Woodchucks.” When it arrived, I handed it to Bug to read and the look on her face read, “Woodchucks? Frozen Woodchucks? You have got to be kidding me.”

But then she disappeared with the book and came back singing its praises. So I read it too, and was pleasantly suprised. Yes, there are woodchucks. Big frozen woodchucks. But if you can get beyond that, this is the kind of book that can draw a kid in. It features smart characters who are truly likeable. I especially liked little two year old Imogene who is an inventor. As absurd as the premise might sound, Elish does an excellent job of making this something that you can get it into, and not the eye rolling experience I thought it might be. (Serves me right to judge a book by its title!)

There are a few scary moments in this book, but nothing too bad. Bug reads above a fifth grade level and it seemed to fit her reading level quite well. I’d say the book would be enjoyed from about fifth to ninth grade (and even higher, as I found it pretty darn good.) Kids who enjoy science fiction or adventure stories will find it particuarly appealing.

As for Bug, she says, “I thought it would be dumb because I didn’t know what a woodchuck was and I don’t know why someone would write about it. But then it turned out to be really good! It was so funny! Really funny! I loved the two year old who could do everything and said all these words that I didn’t even know what they meant! She was cool. And the woodchucks weren’t stupid, it was a cool book. And really funny. I thought there were one or two boring pages, but most of it was really exciting and funny. You should read it. You’d like it because I did.”

So there you have it. You’ll like it because Bug did.

You can check out the author’s website here and see what other bloggers are saying at Mother-Talk.