Avi's New Book! By Prolific Children's Author, Carole P. Roman - Henrietta Hedgehog's Prickly Problem! Illustrated by Matteya Arkova!

Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else

--Judy Garland 

Henrietta Hedgehog rolled into a tight ball under her quilt. She didn't want to go to school today. Mama Hedgehog stood in the doorway. "Henrietta, stop trying to hide! You are late."

Mrs. Shrew will be mad if I am late," she said with a sniff.  "I don't want to go to school." A big fat tear slid down her cheek. "What happened? I thought you loved school!" Mama said.

"I do love school, Mama. It's just...just... I hate being a hedgehog." "You hate being a hedgehog! That's... that's..." Mama sat on the edge of the bed. "Why?" The other kids make fun of me. They say my spines are scary!" Mama Hedgehog wiped Henrietta's tears away. "They're not scary. You have beautiful quills."

Henrietta looked at herself in the mirror. "I don't know about that, Mama. The kids won't sit close to me because they say they're very sharp. I wish I had a busy tail like a squirrel or soft fur like a ferret. Anything but these pesky things," she sighed. Mama frowned.

Henrietta waited for Mama to leave and then took a paper bag from under her pillow. She shoved it into her backpack...

~~~

I've been reading the children's books written by Carole P. Roman for over a decade... and I enjoy each one! In this time when we are even more involved with children and what affects them in school, church, or even at home, it is important to gently but specifically talk about things that bother all of us, from grade school to adult!

Using animal characters often helps to take the child out of this world into a make-believe world where things that make us different in America, can be explored without pinpointing the real differences. In the case of bullying, this may be especially important. I don't think this book is about bullying per se, rather it is a book about getting to know and liking--and loving--ourselves, no matter what we look like...

The minor twist used by Carole in identifying the issue facing Henrietta Hedgehog's prickly problem, was perfect... You see, Henrietta was not liking who she was--a hedgehog that had quills on her body, which, at certain times, would help her against any enemy that might attack another. She knew that if somebody got too close to her, though, they could be hurt, even if she didn't mean to hurt anybody!

What to Do? Henrietta wanted to just not go to school. But her mother wouldn't allow that. So, thinking about those she knew in her class, she remembered that Bella Beaver was somebody she thought looked nice, so she made a mask to wear that made her look just like Bella...

But when she got to school, Bella took one look and thought that Henrietta was making fun of her front teeth, which were Bella's prickly problem for seeing herself as needing to change... Wow! Henrietta soon realized that everybody had something that they didn't like about themselves...and that the others still were willing to be...a prickly hedgehog, a beaver who didn't like her front teeth, a squirrel who doesn't like his "squeaking" voice...and many others who came to talk to Henrietta and tell her that they still liked her, even with her quills!

How about you? Is there anything that you don't like about yourself? Well, think about it and be open to talk about your problem with your mother, or even your teacher... Sometimes, you'll find that the problem you have really isn't prickly at all!

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