(2) PS Hedgehog has been baking cookies for her friends and neighbors, but "Bear should have a grand gift, a special gift, something wonderful...just like Bear." Nothing seems good enough until her home's decorations give her the best idea: a giant gingerbread house. When a gusty wind turns Hedgehog's creation into a pile of crumbs, Bear comes to her rescue and reveals her own present attempt, reminding the two just how well suited they are as friends. Red ribbons and berries plus snow-covered pines, wreaths, and other greenery give the gouache and colored-pencil illustrations a cheerful wintry feel. The front endpapers feature "Hedgehog's Gingerbread Cookies" and "Grandma's Honey Icing" recipes.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2022

(3) K-3 Hello, Hedgehog! series. This is the debut title in a transitional graphic-novel series starring Hedgehog and friends. Friendly illustrations and clearly defined frames in a small trim size highlight a spare friendship story, with text appearing mainly in word bubbles in three chapters. Newly independent readers will recognize elements of Hedgehog and guinea pig Harry's relationship and will be eager for future installments.

Reviewer: Pam Yosca

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Stephanie Graegin. Raccoon Manny (Super Manny Stands Up!) and hedgehog Gertie go around town "saving the planet from danger" every weekend. The pals inspire others to help clean up the litter-filled park because, "every superhero needs a planet worth saving." An earthy color palette and imaginative, proactive characters help make this a positive storytime choice for Earth Day and every day.

Reviewer: Kari Allen

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Carey Sookocheff. Friends Buddy (a large dog) and Earl (a hedgehog) return in their fifth adventure. While playing at superheroes one afternoon (Earl's idea, of course; Buddy just wants to take a nap), they meet their neighbors, bulldog Mister and cat Snowflake. When Snowflake gets stuck in a tree, the friends must pull off an actual daring rescue. As ever, the humor shines through the minimal acrylic illustrations and deadpan text.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

(3) K-3 This picture book about hedgehogs first follows a mother and then her hoglet while introducing facts about their spines, food, habitats, and hibernation. Additional related information about hedgehogs, in a slightly different handwritten-style font, supplements the narrative; a "More About Hedgehogs" page is appended. McGuinness's appealing, textured mixed-media illustrations feature big-eyed hedgehogs in a variety of natural and man-made settings. Reading list, websites. Ind.

Reviewer: Janet Dawson

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Tina Macnaughton. Who is disrupting Little Hedgehog's Christmas get-together with his animal friends? The cookie ornaments keep disappearing, someone is snoring loudly, and Little Hedgehog's hat vanishes. Finally the group discovers they brought a squirrel in with the Christmas tree. The novelty of Little Hedgehog's "touch-and-feel" fuzzy hat will wear off, but bright illustrations add a convivial atmosphere to the otherwise pedestrian tale.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Caroline Pedler. Badger, Hedgehog, Rabbit, and friends return (When You Need a Friend; Friends to the Rescue), this time working together to solve a mysterious water shortage. Though the situation seems dire at the start, sunny illustrations foreshadow a happy ending. Information about watersheds feels forced and the teamwork message is rather preachy, but accomplished book design and art increase the book's appeal.

Reviewer: Lolly Robinson

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Carey Sookocheff. In their latest adventure, friends Buddy (a large dog) and Earl (a pet hedgehog) are excited to attend owner Meredith's pretend school. When she's called away and Earl takes over, he ensures that Buddy excels by teaching classes in Tail Chasing, Sniffing Things, and Scratching Itches. Simple, minimalist gouache illustrations in a limited palette accompany the droll text.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

(4) 1-3 Animal All-Stars series. Illustrated by Josh Alves. In these brief chapter books, Bobby Longbeak, a turkey who's the leading wide receiver for his football team, learns to tame his wild streak (Wild Receiver); and hedgehog Spikelle Jordan, the best "pointy" guard on her basketball team, learns to share the ball (Ball Hog). Pedestrian writing and obvious messaging mar the stories, but kids might enjoy the general goofiness and the ample cartoonlike illustrations. Review covers these Animal All-Stars titles: Ball Hog and Wild Receiver.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(3) PS On a windy autumn day, best-friend hedgehogs Horace and Hattie befriend a "squeaky thing" (a tiny purple bat) and play hide-and-seek until the last leaf falls from the trees. This story about friendship and enjoying the pleasures of the season is a simple but powerful one. Readers will delight in searching for the characters hidden in the warm, fall-toned collage illustrations.

Reviewer: Lana Barnes

(3) PS Illustrated by Renata Liwska. "It's winter and I haven't seen one snowflake," says Badger. The forest animals try to summon snow by banging pots, wearing pajamas backward, and performing a snow dance. Hedgehog wisely reminds them, "It will snow in snow's time." Soft-hued, digitally colored pencil illustrations convey the animals' valiant efforts (even sprinkling sugar for snow) in the child-friendly text until finally, after much waiting, "it was time."

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(4) K-3 Penguin Young Readers series. Despite the cutesy title, this easy reader offers a decent amount of information focusing on hedgehogs as outdoor or indoor pets ("check the laws in your town to see if you can have one"). Photos of hedgehogs playing, sniffing, eating, etc., enhance interest, though clarification would have been useful at times (e.g., we're told the creatures are nocturnal, but the photos are mainly daytime).

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(3) PS "I found out we're moving... / And [Mom] said you can't come with us. / So I decided I'm not moving!" This marks the first of several stages that a young porcupine goes through before she accepts that she'll no longer be living near her anteater bestie. Bagley's tenderhearted pen and watercolor art suits this emotional but ultimately clear-eyed tale.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Carey Sookocheff. Buddy (dog) and Earl (hedgehog) return for a nocturnal adventure. Without leaving the kitchen, the two take a dip in a "silvery lake" and rescue a "lovely lady hedgehog" from a "monster." The comic tension between the real and the imagined is just as evident here as in Buddy and Earl. Again, Sookocheff wrings an astounding amount of personality out of her simple, cartoony illustrations.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2016

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Carey Sookocheff. In the third picture book featuring dog Buddy and hedgehog Earl (Buddy and Earl; Buddy and Earl Go Exploring), the two friends are excited about a visit from a baby. Once again, the friends' personalities play off each other beautifully in both the droll, deadpan text and the minimalist, earth-toned acrylic gouache illustrations, which use red accents brilliantly.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2016

(4) K-3 Weird but Cute series. Though they offer only barebones information, these books for beginning readers are accessible introductions to standard features of nonfiction. With large close-up photos dominating the pages, each volume touches on an animal's habitat, diet, care of young, behaviors, and defenses; the "weird but cute" angle isn't a focus. Vocabulary words are printed in bold type and defined in an appended picture glossary. Reading list. Ind. Review covers the following Weird but Cute titles: Beluga Whale, Hedgehog, and Tarsier.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(4) K-3 Herbie--a little hedgehog on his first foraging adventure--is blown into a snowy forest by the wind, exhibits courage when challenged, and eventually returns to his mother's waiting arms. While it's a sweet story of independence, illustrated in soft colors and swirls, Herbie never does find food and seems to travel in time as well, which may be confusing to younger readers.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(4) PS Illustrated by Lucy Tapper. Hedgehogs Horace and Hattie (Hedgehugs) observe a caterpillar becoming a butterfly and wonder: "If they ate a lot and slept in a soft, silky bed, would they turn into something colorful and wonderful too?" (They do--sort of.) This slight story includes a nonscientific introduction to metamorphosis (caterpillar, chrysalis, and butterfly are never mentioned); colorful, vibrantly textured digital illustrations are eye-catching if a bit saccharine.

Reviewer: Lana Barnes

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Chuck Groenink. Misunderstanding the phrase "friendship is out there," lonely Hedgehog captains her own boat to find a ship of friends. Animals she meets haven't seen "The Friend Ship," but each clambers aboard to join the search. Readers will understand before Hedgehog that she's already found real friendship. Some repetition of dialogue makes the story a good read-aloud; expressive illustrations in warm colors suit the tone.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(4) PS Illustrated by Steve Wilson. A hedgehog who insists that he is trying to sleep is getting steamed: "you" keep turning on the light. Is it to torment him, or because he asked for a drink of water ("I did? Really?")? Readers who like wisecracks, silliness, and slapstick will appreciate this somewhat frantic anti-soporific, whose narrative evolves in panels filled with action sounds and griping.

Reviewer: Nell Beram