A Little Bit of Winter by Paul Steward and Chris Riddell
| A Little Bit of Winter by Paul Steward and Chris Riddell | |
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| Category: For Sharing | |
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Reviewer: Sue Magee
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| Summary: A gently educational book about animals who sleep through the winter and those who don't. Great illustrations and an endearing story. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 32 | Date: September 2012 |
| Publisher: Andersen | |
| ISBN: 978-0862649982 | |
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We already know that Rabbit and Hedgehog are best friends despite the fact that Rabbit is awake all day and Hedgehog is awake at night. Now there's going to be a new challenge for the friendship. It's nearly winter and Hedgehog is ready to go to sleep until spring but Rabbit will be awake and coping with the worst that the weather can throw at him - and trying to find food even when the ground is covered in snow. Hedgehog has a request - he'd like Rabbit to save him a little bit of winter because he doesn't know what it's like.
Hedgehog knows that Rabbit can be forgetful so he carves his request into the bark of the oak tree. (I have to say that for an animal with a brain the size of a peanut he writes with a very fine hand!) And then he goes off to hibernate.
It's a very hard winter with a lot of snow and Rabbit struggles to find enough to eat. There was no grass or dandelion leaves or clover for him. He had to make do with dead leaves and acorns and even some of the bark where Hedgehog had left his message. But eventually he did remember and he carefully wrapped up a snowball so that Hedgehog could discover what COLD felt like. And come the spring...
Ah, what a lovely way of teaching children about the different ways in which animals live. It's so cleverly done that you don't realise that you're learning. Apart from the idea that Hedgehog could leave a message or have a conversation the rest of the story is right and the drawings are anatomically correct, with no human clothes added to fudge the issue. Hurrah!
I'd like to thank the publishers for dropping a copy into the Bookbag.
Rabbit's Wish by the same authors and featuring Rabbit and Hedgehog illustrates the difference between animals who are awake during the day and those who are out and about at night. For more about wild animals - and whether or not you can own one - you might enjoy This Moose Belongs To Me by Oliver Jeffers.
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You can read more book reviews or buy A Little Bit of Winter by Paul Steward and Chris Riddell at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy A Little Bit of Winter by Paul Steward and Chris Riddell at Amazon.com.
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