Thursday, October 1, 2020

Our friend hedgehog: The story of us by Lauren Castillo

 While I'm always skeptical of books with overflowing praise, especially those that say things like "a new classic" I love Castillo's art and was quite ready to try her first excursion into chapter books.

Hedgehog lives quietly on an island with her best friend Mutty, a stuffed white dog with a sweater and scarf. In the midst of a fierce storm, Mutty is blown away by the wind and Hedgehog determines to leave her island and find her faithful friend. She makes it to the shore and begins her search. Along the way she meets first Friendly (and wiggly) Mole, who introduces her to Owl, who's kindly help leads them to Beaver. Beaver is rather self-centered, but under Owl's firm demands he grudgingly agrees to help and gives them a clue - he's found Mutty's scarf (although he refuses to give it up). The next members of their group are Hen and her two chicks, who have more clues. Finally, they meet Annika Mae Flores, who has just moved into a new house in the area. The new friends bond over a final adventure, and then settle down to write down all their adventures with the artists' supplies from Annika.

The sweet and simple text is accompanied by lovely pictures in Castillo's signature style. Firm lines and soft washes of color, show gentle Hedgehog, snooty Beaver, and all their friends, right up to brown-skinned, artistic Annika. The world of the island and the riverbank is shown in a flurry of green and brown tones, with the river sometimes a friend and sometimes a frightening barrier. Castillo does a wonderful job taking readers down into the little world of the small animals, seeing things from their perspective. There are several nice touches too, like owl explaining his long words in simple terms and gentle touches of humor, like Mole's wiggly movements.

Verdict: While I don't like to hail anything as a new classic, this is a sweet and beautifully illustrated new chapter book that will make a wonderful read-aloud or transitional chapter book for readers who like gentle, comforting stories.

ISBN: 9781524766719; Published May 2020 by Alfred A. Knopf; Borrowed from another library in my consortium

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