Hedgie's Surprise

by Jan Brett, Jan Brett (Illustrator), Graeme Malcolm (Narrated by)

Overview

Jan Brett's beloved character Hedgie stars in this charming story about a little Tomten who gets tired of porridge for breakfast and starts stealing Henny's eggs. But Henny wants a brood of chicks and she needs her eggs. With the help of clever Hedgie, she substitutes an acorn, a strawberry, a mushroom and finally a potato in her nest. But nothing stops that Tomten until the little hedgehog hides in Henny's nest: when the Tomten reaches in to get his morning treat, all he gets is a handful of prickles. He runs home for porridge and never comes back again! Intricate needlepoint patterns of Scandinavian designs frame the characters reacting from the borders in this beautiful picture book set in Denmark.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780399549304
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	04/26/2016
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	121 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

With over thirty four million books in print, Jan Brett is one of the nation's foremost author illustrators of children's books. Jan lives in a seacoast town in Massachusetts, close to where she grew up. During the summer her family moves to a home in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts.

As a child, Jan Brett decided to be an illustrator and spent many hours reading and drawing. She says, "I remember the special quiet of rainy days when I felt that I could enter the pages of my beautiful picture books. Now I try to recreate that feeling of believing that the imaginary place I'm drawing really exists. The detail in my work helps to convince me, and I hope others as well, that such places might be real."

As a student at the Boston Museum School, she spent hours in the Museum of Fine Arts. "It was overwhelming to see the room-size landscapes and towering stone sculptures, and then moments later to refocus on delicately embroidered kimonos and ancient porcelain," she says. "I'm delighted and surprised when fragments of these beautiful images come back to me in my painting."

Travel is also a constant inspiration. Together with her husband, Joe Hearne, who is a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Jan visits many different countries where she researches the architecture and costumes that appear in her work. "From cave paintings to Norwegian sleighs, to Japanese gardens, I study the traditions of the many countries I visit and use them as a starting point for my children's books."

With over thirty four million books in print, Jan Brett is one of the nation's foremost author illustrators of children's books. Jan lives in a seacoast town in Massachusetts, close to where she grew up. During the summer her family moves to a home in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts.

As a child, Jan Brett decided to be an illustrator and spent many hours reading and drawing. She says, "I remember the special quiet of rainy days when I felt that I could enter the pages of my beautiful picture books. Now I try to recreate that feeling of believing that the imaginary place I'm drawing really exists. The detail in my work helps to convince me, and I hope others as well, that such places might be real."

As a student at the Boston Museum School, she spent hours in the Museum of Fine Arts. "It was overwhelming to see the room-size landscapes and towering stone sculptures, and then moments later to refocus on delicately embroidered kimonos and ancient porcelain," she says. "I'm delighted and surprised when fragments of these beautiful images come back to me in my painting."

Travel is also a constant inspiration. Together with her husband, Joe Hearne, who is a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Jan visits many different countries where she researches the architecture and costumes that appear in her work. "From cave paintings to Norwegian sleighs, to Japanese gardens, I study the traditions of the many countries I visit and use them as a starting point for my children's books."

Editorial Reviews

Author Essay
All About Hedgie's Surprise
Hedgie's Surprise is a story about friendship. Like many great partners, Hedgie's skills balance nicely with those of his friend Henny, who has talents of her own.

I needed a mischief maker to set events in motion. A Danish Tomten was my choice. On a trip to Denmark I learned that a Tomten is a Danish elf who lives secretly in the barn. If the farmer offers him porridge, the Tomten helps things along on the farm. But if the farmer ignores the little elf, things go mysteriously wrong!

I have always been fascinated by hedgehogs. They are wild animals that can coexist with us humans. Because hedgehogs protect themselves by rolling in a ball, they don't run away. We can observe their big, sensitive eyes for seeing in the dark and their funny turned-up snouts for digging insects. They are adorable and comical at the same time!

To create this book, I decided I must have my very own chicken. I needed to observe her to draw her well. I bought one-day-old chicks and raised them under a heat lamp. Now I have my own flock of five magnificent laying hens that have become my dear pets. Pansy and Bluebell are silver-laced Wyandottes. The old biddy, Dahlia, is a Delaware, and she is top hen. Daisy and Chrysanthemum are my fancy bantam silkies. They all lay eggs, which are delicious. They love to pose for me because they get bored easily!

--Jan Brett

bn.com

Pity Henny! Every morning, the Tomten (inspired by the mischievous character from Danish folklore) steals one of her eggs for his breakfast simply because he's gotten tired of eating porridge. Henny doesn't like this one bit, of course, but merely puts up with it. One morning she notices Goosey-Goosey swimming along proud as can be with her brood of newly hatched goslings. From then on, longing for offspring of her own, Henny determines to put a stop to the Tomten's misbehavior. All her efforts prove ineffectual, though, until her loyal pal Hedgie the hedgehog comes to the rescue. He tricks the Tomten on several subsequent mornings by substituting other foods for the usual egg. Finding these foods delicious yet unfulfilling—and un Byrd, Robert SAINT FRANCIS AND THE CHRISTMAS DONKEY Illus. by the author Dutton (40 pp.) Sep. 2000

Kirkus Reviews