I let today’s PPBF pick inspire the Count Downton sketch of Mrs. Patmore (Lesley Nicol), because . . . it’s NIKOLAUS!
Author: Amy Sparkes
Illustrator: Benji Davies
Publisher: Worthwhile Books, 2010
Age: 4 and up
Themes: hedgehogs, sharing, books in rhyme
Opening: “Hodge the Hedgehog hogged the hedge. He didn’t like to share. The other creatures thought him rude, but Hodge just did not care.”
Summary: (from Amazon) Hodge the Hedgehog hogged the hedge; He didn’t like to share. The other creatures thought him rude, But Hodge just didn’t care.” Hodge the Hedgehog wants the whole hedge for himself – but the other animals in the forest think that Hodge needs to learn how to share! When everyone pitches in to teach Hodge a lesson about friendship, the results are downright silly – and all the animals learn that sharing can save the day!
Why I like this book: 1- I love hedgehogs, ever since my first encounter as an exchange student in Germany, 2 – super endpapers with fall leaves (I love fall!), 3-spoiler alert: mouse dons a towel turban after a bath. That’s enough, right? But the rhyming text is so much fun to read (the main character ‘haughtily huffs’!) you could almost overlook all the fun in the adorable illustrations!
Resources/Activities: I doubt enough American kids are familiar with hedgehogs, their habits or their habitats: read more picture books, like The Very Helpful Hedgehog or Hedgehog’s Magic Tricks; research hedgehog facts at websites like National Geographic; watch educational videos about hedgehogs, which point out why they don’t make great pets.
For more Perfect Picture Book Friday picks and parent/teacher resources go to Susanna Hill’s blog – HERE
Adorable!
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🙂
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Such a cute book. The illustrations are adorable.
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Thanks!
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I like that Mrs Patmore! Hodge the Hedgehog sounds like super silly funI I’ve met hedgehogs before. They smell funny. A good thing!
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I didn’t know that! What do they smell like? I never got close enough myself.
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kind of like dirt? Different from rabbits. A smell I would like to roll in. I know some kids who have pet hedgehogs. They seem to be kind of popular around here.
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hedgehogs! how fun… I love books about hedgehogs. And rats and toads and cats and… thanks for sharing this.
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Please share any good hedgehog titles, Sue.
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I enjoyed your review of such a fun and charming book! Have never seen a hedgehog before. Like the message about sharing!
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We would put out a shallow bowl of milk for our visitor in Germany.
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Are hedgehogs the most adorable unhuggable things or what?!
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Hahaha! May I steal that for a title, Teresa?
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Every time we spotted a hedgehog in the garden we would run outside to watch it waddle away! I LOVE the wordplay of a hedge-hogging hedgehog. Brilliant idea. (and cute illus of your own, Julie!)
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Thanks, Wendy – let me know if you like it!
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I’ve campaigned hard for a pet pygmy hedgehog, but we got a guinea pig instead who is pretty sweet!
Love the picture!
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Good that you didn’t win out. They are nocturnal – and don’t make great pets.
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I love hedgehogs, too, Julie, and we own an African Pygmy Hedgehog which is proving to be an inspiration for my writing! Yes, they are nocturnal, but we have plenty of fun with Pippin before we turn in for the night.
Thanks for sharing these!
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Pippin! What a great name, Jarm!
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I forgot to mention that Mrs. Patmore DOES remind me of a hedgehog for some reason. Love your illustration!!
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Thanks, Jarm!
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AWESOME! 😀
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It’s all been said, cute, adorable, cute and adorable and the book too. 🙂
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Never heard of anyone sufferinng from too many of the same comments!
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Another fun pick for Enzo. Thanks!
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Oh, yeah!
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I wish I could have a hedgehog! (and I think it’s just me, but i can’t see your last picture)
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The last picture is the cover of Ouch.
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GORGEOUS. I too love hedgehogs. I had one scuttle past my open toilet door in my apartment in Nice!
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Well-mannered? Dit it look the other way?
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