Learning Through Hedgehog Children’s Book
By Kathleen DeMars
The decision to adopt a pet into your family is a big one that should not be entered into without careful consideration.
This is especially true when the pet you’re interested in is considered to be an exotic animal in some countries.
We already know that hedgehogs can be pricey and require special care and attention to thrive in an adopted home.
Despite this, you’d be hard pressed to show a young child one of these adorable little hedgies and not have them beg you incessantly to take one as one of your own!
An excellent way to encourage your children’s enthusiasm until (or without) bringing a real hedgehog into your home is through children’s literature – in this case, books!
There are several storybooks for young children with hedgehog characters for them to enjoy.
Reading together fosters learning on all levels, and this is a low-cost, essentially risk-free way to combine our favorite hogs with your critter-loving little one.
Below is a selection of children’s books that feature hedgehogs as characters.
Popular Hedgehog Books
You’ll notice that M. Christina Butler and Jan Brett have more than one; these aren’t even all they’ve written!
We assume this means they, too, have a particular affinity for these little mammals.
M. Christina Butler
One Snowy Night
In this charming winter tale, a little hedgehog unexpectedly awakens from hibernation.
He’s too cold to return to sleep and is very happy when Father Christmas gives him a warm red woolen hat.
The hat keeps getting stuck on the little hedgehog’s quills, which leads him to get creative, turning his hat into the best gift ever!
One Winter’s Day
The little guy puts on all his winter clothes (a hat, scarf, and mittens) and heads out to his friend, the badger’s house to get warm.
Along the way, he meets other forest friends, who are also very cold in the storm, and Little Hedgehog shares his winter gear giving away his accessories one by one.
One Christmas Night
Most editions come with sparkly illustrations for added enjoyment for little readers!
Jan Brett
The Hat
He curiously sticks his head into the opening only to find that he cannot back up and get out because it is stuck on his quills.
Nearby animals come and tease him one by one, but Hedgie tells them each that the sock will keep him warm during the long, cold winter months.
When Lisa, the sock’s owner, finds Hedgie, she tells him that animals don’t wear clothes and takes her stocking back only to return to her clothesline to see all the animals who had mocked Hedgie wearing a piece of her clothing.
The Mitten
One by one, the animal increases in size (including a hedgehog, of course) and crawls into the mitten to keep warm.
This fantastic tale even has a bear crawl inside before a mouse tickles his whiskers, causing him to sneeze and sending all of the animals out into the snow and the mitten sailing high up into the air to be found by its owner.
Hedgie’s Surprise
Hedgie helps Henny the chicken protect the eggs in her nest from a Tomten, who has become sick of porridge and has taken to stealing Henny’s eggs.
After several failed attempts to trick the Tomten by filling the nest with items such as mushrooms and potatoes, Hedgie hides in the nest himself.
When Tomten gets a handful of prickly quills from Hedgie’s back, he learns his lesson and stays away from Henny’s precious eggs.
Hedgehog books from other writers
The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle by Beatrix Potter
Lucie is a little girl who continues to lose her pocket handkerchiefs. She asks all of the animals in the farmyard if they’ve seen them but has no success.
She searches everywhere and comes across the home of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, the hedgehog.
Lucie spends the day with Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, who is the best seamstress to all of Potter’s forest creatures. Throughout the day, they mend Peter Rabbit’s jacket and fix up a variety of well-loved characters’ apparel.
Hurry Home, Hedgehog! by Belle Yang
The weather is turning bad, and a hedgehog is on his way home. He hears lots of different sounds along the way.
As an added touch, this book is written in both Mandarin Chinese characters and English writing with translations on each page.
The Very Helpful Hedgehog by Rosie Wellesley
One day an apple falls and gets stuck on his quills.
He gets help from a donkey, who cannot reach the apples from where he lives. Isaac learns that sometimes it is better to have a friend than to always be on one’s own
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We hope you enjoy these excellent hedgehog books, which are great for animal lovers of all ages!
Hedgie the Daydreaming Hedgehog is a great story to read aloud to kids too! Written in rhyme and has lovely illustrations.