Porcupine Had a Fuzzy Sweater
Jody Jensen Shaffer, Author
Angela Edmonds, Illustrator
Magination Press, Fiction, Sep. 17, 2024
Suitable for ages: 5-9
Themes: Porcupines, Grandmothers, Sweater, Lost and found, Mistakes, Honesty
Jody Jensen Shaffer, Author
Angela Edmonds, Illustrator
Magination Press, Fiction, Sep. 17, 2024
Suitable for ages: 5-9
Themes: Porcupines, Grandmothers, Sweater, Lost and found, Mistakes, Honesty
Opening: “Hello! I am Porcupine! See how I run and jump and snack on tree bark? Yum! I am a happy rodent! Most of the time.”
Book Jacket Synopsis:
Porcupine’s favorite sweater is missing!
It was fuzzy, and red, and made with love by his Grandma. Porcupine doesn’t want to hurt her feelings by admitting he lost it. Maybe he can make a new one? Or borrow someone else’s? Or maybe he’ll have no choice but to leave home. What’s a porcupine to do? This cute story empathizes with anyone who’s ever made a mistake and been afraid to admit the truth. Readers will delight in helping Porcupine decide what needs to be done.
My thoughts:
First of all, children will love the colorful and expressive cover and illustrations by Angela Edmonds. You will want to wrap your arms around Porcupine, but ouch! Porcupine has have an abundance of quills.
Jody Jensen Shaffer’s heartwarming story about this adorable porcupine, will resonate with young children. Kids will relate to Porcupine’s losing a special fuzzy sweater knitted by Grandmother. They know what it is like to misplace something precious and often face the dilema that Porcupine does –the worry, sadness and figuring out what to do. Pocupine is an interactive character and invites readers to help him decide what to do — especially when he thinks about borrowing/taking Hedgehog’s fuzzy sweater.
Make sure you check out the Reader’s Note at the end as it will help parents and teachers find creative ways to to help kids know it’s okay to make mistakes, deal with emotions, learn problem solving skills, and face everyday challenges. This is a perfect read aloud.
Jody Jensen Shaffer is an award-winning poet and the author of more than 80 books of fiction and nonfiction for children. Her forthcoming books include CREEP, LEAP, CRUNCH! A FOOD CHAIN STORY (Knopf 2023), SOMETIMES I AM HOT LAVA (Beaming Books 2024), and THE LAST DAY JULIAN WAS MY BEST FRIEND (Two Lions 2024), as well as A CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK (Paulsen), a 2021-22 Iowa Goldfinch Award nominee, PRUDENCE THE PART-TIME COW (Godwin), finalist for the 2019-2020 Missouri Show Me Award and 2017 pick for the National Book Festival from Missouri, IT’S YOUR FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL, BUSY BUS! (Beach Lane), an Amazon best seller, Book Box pick, and AmazonKids+ choice, EMERGENCY KITTENS!, and more. Jody has been published in magazines like Highlights, Ladybug, and Clubhouse Jr. She lives in Missouri with her family. You can find Jody online at jodyjensenshaffer.com and on Twitter @jodywrites4kids.
Every Friday, authors and KidLit bloggers post a favorite picture book. To see a complete listing of all the Perfect Picture Books (PPB) with resources, please visit author Susanna Leonard Hill’s website.
*Review copy provided by Magination Press in exchange for a review.