- Hardcover: 40 pages
- Publisher: HarperCollins Canada / Other (Oct 2 1985)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0060236965
- ISBN-13: 978-0060236960
- Product Dimensions: 25.9 x 20.6 x 1 cm
- Shipping Weight: 431 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 4 Familiar folktale elements combine in an unfamiliar tale of Latvian origin. A farm couple yearns for a child; they are rewarded by the Forest Mother with an infant in a basket who is "covered with prickles, like a hedgehog." Years later, when the king is lost in the woods, the hedgehog boy trades directions home for his daughter's hand in marriage. On their wedding night, the princess burns the hedgehog coat. Her husband becomes sick and almost dies, but with the princess' loving care he heals and becomes a handsome normal man. The character of the bumbling, inept king particularly comes to life, and the entire story is deftly, clearly told with humorous, flowing prose. It may be too long for a read-aloud, however. Plume incorporates traditional Latvian colors and design in her illustrations, which are aglow with yellows, reds, blues and greens. Bordered full-page, lavish artwork alternates with smaller rectangular and circular illustrations. The overall design of the book is pleasing although there are a few questionable blank spaces. A quibble: though the story may be true to Langton's sources, the transformation from hedgehog boy to real boy is confusing. Children may want to know what exactly takes place. Does he take his coat off every night? Is there some kind of enchantment at work here? Is it love that saves him? Is it fair that the princess is essentially rewarded for her impulsive act of burning the coat? In spite of this lack of clarity, the book is still a charming and welcome addition to folktale collections. The score to a Latvian song, a daina, is included. Leda Schubert, formerly at Kellogg Hubbard Library, Montpelier, Vt.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most helpful customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Latvian Fairytale,
By
This review is from: The Hedgehog Boy (Hardcover)
Reason for Reading: I love fairytales/folklore and this one appealed to me first because Langton is a favourite author and I didn't know she had done a picture book and secondly, I was attracted to both the unique setting and subject, Latvia and a hedgehog boy.This is a picture book that is written with full pages of text and opposing page illustrations, with occasional half-pages of text & illustration. Since it is so textual, it may not hold the attention of a toddler and the publisher's recommended age is 5-8 which seems appropriate to me. This tale has some common folklore elements such as an elderly couple being gifted a infant in their old age, the child ends up being unusual, here the boy has the skin and hair of a hedgehog. The child is good-mannered, helpful to his parents and well-loved. Then one day he meets a princess, saves her from a small but life-threatening accident and then convinces to marry her. Upon marrying him, her disgust turns to love and he turns into a real man. Not so common traits are that the Hedgehog boy works to get what he wants, putting the king through a bad situation until he must agree to let him marry the princess thus Hedgehog gets what he wants. The tables are turned around on him when the princess pulls the same trick on him by burning his hedgehog suit, thus getting the man she wants. I'd say the moral of the story was "What goes around, comes around." Ms. Plume's illustrations are realistic and very connected with the Latvian art style both in colour choices and in incorporating borders and designs into her illustrations. Overall, an interesting fairytale which was new to me.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review)
3.0 out of 5 stars
OK story, Better Illustrations,
By Nicola Manning - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Hedgehog Boy (Hardcover)
Reason for Reading: I love fairytales/folklore and this one appealed to me first because Langton is a favourite author and I didn't know she had done a picture book and secondly, I was attracted to both the unique setting and subject, Latvia and a hedgehog boy.This is a picture book that is written with full pages of text and opposing page illustrations, with occasional half-pages of text & illustration. Since it is so textual, it may not hold the attention of a toddler and the publisher's recommended age is 5-8 which seems appropriate to me. This tale has some common folklore elements such as an elderly couple being gifted a infant in their old age, the child ends up being unusual, here the boy has the skin and hair of a hedgehog. The child is good-mannered, helpful to his parents and well-loved. Then one day he meets a princess, saves her from a small but life-threatening accident and then convinces to marry her. Upon marrying him, her disgust turns to love and he turns into a real man. Not so common traits are that the Hedgehog boy works to get what he wants, putting the king through a bad situation until he must agree to let him marry the princess thus Hedgehog gets what he wants. The tables are turned around on him when the princess pulls the same trick on him by burning his hedgehog suit, thus getting the man she wants. I'd say the moral of the story was "What goes around, comes around." Ms. Plume's illustrations are realistic and very connected with the Latvian art style both in colour choices and in incorporating borders and designs into her illustrations. Overall, an interesting fairytale which was new to me. |
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