Hedgehug's Halloween

by Benn Sutton, Dan Pinto (Illustrator)

Overview

Hedgehug’s Halloween, with its delightful illustrations, is the perfect picture book for children who don’t love the spooky side of the holiday.

Hedgehug the hedgehog has been invited to a Halloween party! He’s so excited. All his friends will be there. He’s sure there will be pumpkins and treats and all kinds of Halloween fun.

But Hedgehug has a big problem. The holiday party is only hours away, and he hasn’t found a Halloween costume. His friends are there to help. Will they figure out a costume for Hedgehug in time? Or will he have to stay home and miss the best party ever?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780061961045
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	07/23/2013
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 6.20(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Benn Sutton lives in Bondi Beach, Australia. He once attended a Halloween party dressed as a ghost writer.

Dan Pinto lives in Brooklyn, New York. He likes to draw things.

Editorial Reviews

In Hedgehug’s second holiday-themed outing, after 2011’s Hedgehug: A Lesson in Love, he doesn’t have a costume for the big Halloween party. A ghost outfit makes him look like a slice of Swiss cheese, and when he dresses as a bunch of grapes, the purple balloons pop on his quills. But just as a despairing Hedgehug leaves the party, his friends surprise him with a costume that is just right. Pinto crafts a visually enigmatic woodland world of looming shadows and fluorescent backlight, with burlap textures adding warmth and dimension. A simple but satisfying tale of Halloween ups and downs. Ages 4–8. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

PreS-K—Hedgehug has forgotten all about the evening's Halloween party and does not have a costume. He approaches several forest friends for help, but he damages every outfit they give him to try on. He heads home feeling defeated and alone until his pals come after him, offering the perfect solution. The last two spreads show him dressed as a green cactus with his spikes prominently sticking out. The splotchy, textured artwork is pleasant enough, but because Hedgehug's spikes are not shown in the earlier drawings, it is difficult for readers to understand why his clothes keep shredding. A ho-hum story.—Martha Simpson, Stratford Library Association, CT

School Library Journal

An adorable hedgehog forgets about the upcoming Halloween party. Now the day is here, and he has no costume to wear. Thank goodness he's got a determined and creative trio of friends to help him out. Pinto and Sutton (Hedgehug: A Sharp Lesson in Love, 2011) tackle a topic that is all too familiar--what to wear? Hannah the armadillo is the first on the scene to help her friend. When he "slip[s] his costume carefully over his head" and yells, "Boooooo!" a terrible rip turns Hedgehug the ghost into a wedge of Swiss cheese. Edie the owl uses purple balloons and a few leaves to turn Hedgehug into a bunch of grapes…before they all pop. Doris the rabbit snips and clips fabric for a mummy costume, but he trips when he tries to walk. With his hopes of attending the party unraveling, he begins to return home. But on his way, he notices that "something [is] following him." He nervously turns to the shadowy figure only to find out it is his friends who have thought up "the perfect costume"--a cactus! The vividly hued illustrations, created in part by textured collage, nicely complement the urgent dialogue propelling the story, while the spunky earnestness that shines through the simple features of the characters and the energy captured in their silhouettes are endearing. A Halloween story that's more cozy than creepy. (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews