This is an exciting and insightful story with wonderful illustrations!
The story shows that you have to work hard for what you want, and you can't be too confident. Achieving ease comes from working hard. This is the kind of story you'd want to buy for your child.
Thank you to NetGalley and Capstone Editions for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.

What a wonderful story! It teaches that not everything in life comes easily and that talent alone isn’t enough—working on yourself is essential to achieving your goals.
I also want to highlight the incredibly beautiful illustrations. I read this book with my daughter, and she absolutely loved it. Now she wants to have a copy at home!

Thank you to NetGalley and Capstone for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me review this book. Owl thought she was the best and should win every time. Yet she never practiced, unlike the other animals. Her friends won in the various events since they’d trained. She realized just cause she thought she was the best at all the events, didn’t mean she was. She realized her friends deserved the wins since they’d practiced and trained hard. So she decided to learn from her friends and slow down; not rush through life.

A fun and entertaining story about forest animals competing in their annual winter games. Owl, despite not training at all, is convinced she can win everything—reminding me of some people who rely on luck and confidence but forget that true success takes effort. Natural talent is great, but it's not everything!
I loved this book—it’s engaging, beautifully illustrated, and would be a great addition to elementary school classrooms.

Wonderfully cute illustrations! Humorous, but also a good lesson, much like the hare and the tortoise. Just because you’re “supposed to win”, because “you’re designed to win” doesn’t mean you will. You have to put in the work at all times.

My goodness, what a spectacular message!

This is an excellently crafted story detailing the difference between earning your place and entitlement - something I find SO important for kids to learn. It also challenges the narrative of being "naturally great" vs those that work hard!

The illustrations in this are great and very detailed! They give the reader lots to look at and explore, perfect for eyes that are learning to notice new things and just starting to explore different details.

Absolutely would recommend!