Kim Chatel

Burgher is a gnome, which is just another name for an ugly elf. He lives in a grey world, among slugs and mushrooms and he likes it that way. A black cloud follows him around like a curse. It must be the Apple Tree Man's revenge for destroying the orchard, but Burgher had to destroy it. He couldn't bear to go through another spring, with birds and bees and butterflies. When he finds a green toenail in his otherwise grey garden, Burgher knows that the Apple Tree Man is back, and his must come up with a plan to drive him off once more, before the trees burst into stinking bloom and the butterflies start their infuriating flutter-byes.

This choose-your-own-adventure chapter book is a gentle, funny look at how self-pity can turn the world grey. Help Burgher make the right decisions!

Illustrated by Samantha Bell.

Suggested reading age: 8-12.

"Choose your own adventure is a lost art. It's great to see Kim Chatel bringing it back with a refreshing, lighthearted story full of whimsy." Review by Cynthia Vespia.

"I loved the contraptions Burgher built to carry out his plans. I laughed aloud at this grumpy gnome's antics. I enjoyed the quirky characters, and pursuing different pathways of Burgher's story. Above all, I appreciated the underlying theme: that though we paint ourselves into a lonely corner, and make really disastrous mistakes, "destinies can be changed, but the heart will always find a way out of loneliness." Review by The Book Chook

"Not only is Burgher and the Woebegone a delightful, fairy-tale story to read but it also reinforces the values involved in making the proper kinds of choices that will bring true happiness to ourselves and to others.  Many children will like the fact that they can read it over and over again and it will be a different tale each time." Review by Wayne S. Walker

"Burgher and the Woebegone is a delightful and magical story that makes reading an interactive adventure. Readers choose where they would like to go in the story, allowing them to read the book several times over with different results." Review by Cheryl Malandrinos for The Children And Teens Book Connection