BOOK REVIEW: Hedgehog’s Home for Winter

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Hedgehog’s Home for Winter is available on Amazon here.

{I was gifted this book, but am committed, as always, to provide accurate and honest reviews.}

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In addition to reviewing the

CALIBER OF CONTENT,

and the

EFFECTIVENESS OF ITS ILLUSTRATIONS,

I will also include information on the

APPROPRIATENESS AS A READ ALOUD,

ADAPTABILITY TO ACTIVITIES and the

QUALITY OF THE PHYSICAL BOOK. 

And at the end, you’ll find an 

EDUCATIONAL EVALUATION from an adult perspective plus an

ENJOYMENT ASSESSMENT from the perspective of a few students!

TITLE OF BOOK: Hedgehog’s Home for Winter

AUTHOR: Elena Ulyeva 

ILLUSTRATOR: Daria Parkhaeva

PUBLISHER: Clever Publishing

CATEGORY: Fiction Children’s Book with an Animal/Science Theme

LENGTH OF BOOK: 32 pages

READING LEVEL: 1st-3rd

PRICE: $11-13

AVAILABILITY: Readily avavailable on Amazon.

WHAT IT’S ABOUT: Just as the title and cover indicate, Hedgehog’s Home for Winter is the story of a precious hedgehog and his wintery home. Turns out, he cannot sleep and when he ventures out into the cold, he becomes worried about his other animal friends. But, as he checks on each {insects, hares, fox, wolf, fish, and more,} he learns that they are all safe and sound in their own version of a winter wonderland. He is then able to snuggle up in his own bed and sleep until spring.

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CALIBER OF CONTENT: The talking animals with their hats, scarves, and boots combined with the obvious focus on their real winter survival strategies offers a nice balance of fiction and facts. However, there is a slight disconnect in the story’s overall message. It basically ends with “nature has taken care of everything for us” but that “everything” includes a manufactured home for the birds, a full-sized cabin for Hedgehog, and hot tea beneath the river for the crayfish. But, to make up for that little inconsistency, the book does include two pages of winter facts along with instructions on how to make a snow volcano at the end. SCORE 4/5 ♥♥♥♥_

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EFFECTIVENESS OF ILLUSTRATIONS: The illustrations are downright adorable! The variety of animals reflect their real counterparts but are then made extra adorable with stocking hats on fish and frogs in bunk beds. And the illustrations are extremely detailed with teeny acorns embellishing Hedgehog’s mittens, a spilled jar of honey in Bear’s den, and socks hanging in Squirrel’s home.  SCORE: 5/5 ♥♥♥♥♥

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APPROPRIATENESS AS A READ-ALOUD: This book would be a delightful read-aloud for the youngest of listeners through perhaps Third Grade. Beyond that age, the disconnect mentioned above might become too big to make much sense at all. But, for the younger set, it offers loads of sweet and simple discussion points. And with the engaging illustrations, Hedgehog’s Home for Winter is a book that can be read multiple times with something new becoming noticeable with each read. SCORE: 5/5 ♥♥♥♥♥

ADAPTABILITY TO ACTIVITIES:  Using one of these books as a springboard for a study on hibernation, winter or hedgehogs would be easy to do. After reading it, I added it to my Hibernation Unit Study because of its easy adaptability. It would be super easy to expand the purpose of this book with art, science, snacks, and more. SCORE: 5/5 ♥♥♥♥♥

QUALITY OF THE PHYSICAL BOOK:  Gorgeous! It seems that with the advent of self-publishing, the quality of books has become extremely unpredictable. But, there is no concern with this book. It is gorgeous! It is a hardcover with thick, glossy pages and rich colors. No mistakes that I could find and more than worth the price. SCORE: 5/5 ♥♥♥♥♥

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EDUCATIONAL EVALUATION from an adult perspective: I would recommend this book from both the role of a homeschool mom and also a classroom teacher. If my son was a decade younger, I know this would have been a big hit with him….one that we would’ve read multiple times. And if I was still teaching in the classroom, I would surely have used this during one of our many literature-rich science studies. As noted above, it’s not perfect in its science, but I rarely like perfect anyhow. Whether actual facts or just because it counters your own worldview, it’s the imperfections that lead to bigger discussion and deeper learning. 

ENJOYMENT ASSESSMENT from students’ perspective: Because my own son is a 6-foot tall teenager, I had to borrow some kids and was only able to do it via a video camera. Though I am not used to reading to kiddos on camera, they did not consider the approach foreign at all. I read to a family of three kids, ages 3, 7, and 9. All remain engaged for the entire reading and seemed to enjoy not only the story but also finding interesting details, like Hedgehog’s coffee cup, the mice’s snowman, and the teapot shared by the wolf and fox. They were also very interested in sharing how they prepare for winter, as prompted by one of the last pages, and super excited about making a snow volcano. Everyone reported to enjoy the story with the three-year-old summing it up perfectly, “The hedge guy could not sleep because he was sad for his cold friends. But they weren’t too cold. Then the hedge guy could sleep. Night night.”