Hedgehog Howdedo - Lynley Dodd

***Background***

Lynley Dodd is well know to most mums and dads out there because of her wonderful series of books featuring Hairy Maclary and Slinky Malinky but this one goes to show that she can write about more than just those characters.

***The Story***

This story is all about hedgehogs.

"My garden's full of hedgehogs,
they're sleeping two by three,
under every flower,
...We hear how there is one that likes to hide underneath a pizza plant and two on a ledge before going up in numbers until we get to eight snoring in the woodpile.

Then the little girl ponders what will happen when they awaken from hibernation after the winter.

"I'm very glad it's winter,
it's such a lucky thing,
for there's going to be a traffic jam
when they wake up
in spring."
more

***Background***

Lynley Dodd is well know to most mums and dads out there because of her wonderful series of books featuring Hairy Maclary and Slinky Malinky but this one goes to show that she can write about more than just those characters.

***The Story***

This story is all about hedgehogs.

"My garden's full of hedgehogs,
they're sleeping two by three,
under every flower,
every bush
and every tree."

We hear how there is one that likes to hide underneath a pizza plant and two on a ledge before going up in numbers until we get to eight snoring in the woodpile.

Then the little girl ponders what will happen when they awaken from hibernation after the winter.

"I'm very glad it's winter,
it's such a lucky thing,
for there's going to be a traffic jam
when they wake up
in spring."

***The Illustrations***

As with a lot of her other books, Lynley Dodd has captured the animals' personalities perfectly and they are beautifully drawn. The words are on one page and the pictures on the other and it makes it very easy for a child learning to read, to follow the words.

***My Thoughts***

I love Lynley Dodd's books. They are written with delicate humour and the pictures really go with the simple stories. My son has been quite a fan of her work in recent years since getting a Hairy Maclary jigsaw book for his birthday so whenever he sees one in the library he makes a beeline for it. He immediately recognised her work from the cover, as her illustrations are very distinctive and was only disappointed for a few seconds when it wasn't actually about one of his favourite characters.

This story is told in a simple rhyme with only one or two lines on each page, making it fun for the child to look at all the different pictures of hedgehogs along the way. This book really encourages a younger child to learn about counting and it is very different from a lot of number books out there who just show the words one car and then a matching picture.

I believe that children learn more when there are stories or rhymes as they can easily memorize them and parents soon find that their child is reciting bits and pieces with them as they read it. For slightly older children who are just starting to recognise letters and words, this book is ideal. My 5 year old is starting to sound out words and there are quite a few that he can already find in this book. It is of course also fun for children to look for all the hedgehogs on the pages and count them as they go. They start off being very easy to spot but by the time they get to eight in the woodpile my son had to look more closely.

Most of all though, I like this book because it is simple and fun to look at. The drawings of the hedgehogs sleeping are very cute and I have to admit that did draw me into this book, as I do quite like the little creatures myself.

If you haven't already seen any of Lynley Dodd's books, then I would thoroughly recommend them for pre-schoolers or up to the age of about 7 for some of the Hairy Maclary books. They really are a great addition to any child's library.

***Price & Availability***

This paperback is available for the publishing price of £4.99 but you can get it cheaper from WH Smith for only £3.99.

ISBN NO. 0140568859 

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