Little Tales of Hedgehog and GoatWritten by Paula Green | Illustrations by Kimberly Andrews
Puffin, Penguin Random House NZ, 2nd August 2022 | Adobe Fresco/Photoshop A charming illustrated chapter book for children six years and up about friendship and finding the magic in the everyday. A delightful illustrated novel for children about a goat and a hedgehog who meet in a farm field and become best friends. Goat has a tiny pink shed in a rolling paddock. She likes to stand on top of the little shed and dream of meeting other goats in other paddocks. Sometimes she looks at the sky and imagines the clouds are her friends, especially when they look like goats bouncing and bounding in their sky paddocks. Most of the time Goat is lonely. She wishes the family in the pink house at the top of the hill would find another goat for the paddock. A best friend goat. Goat is looking at the sky and dreaming of a best friend when she hears a strange squeaking coming from a ball of prickles. It's Hedgehog, and she is crying. This is the beginning of a most unexpected friendship. Though Goat is a creature of the day and Hedgehog hunts at night, life in their rolling paddock will never be lonely or boring again. Chock-full of adventure and wisdom, tall stories and tiny poems, Little Tales of Hedgehog and Goat is a charming novel about friendship and finding the magic in the every day. It's the perfect bedtime chapter book that will be enjoyed by child and adult, and all fans of Winnie the Pooh, Wind in the Willows and Snake and Lizard. |
Awards & recognition
LISTENER TOP 50 BOOKS 2022
STORYLINES NOTABLE JUNIOR FICTION AWARD 2022
NATIONAL LIBRARY: OUR BEST CHILDREN'S AND YA BOOKS FOR 2022
SHORTLISTED - NZ BOOKLOVERS AWARD FOR BEST JUNIOR FICTION BOOK 2023
STORYLINES NOTABLE JUNIOR FICTION AWARD 2022
NATIONAL LIBRARY: OUR BEST CHILDREN'S AND YA BOOKS FOR 2022
SHORTLISTED - NZ BOOKLOVERS AWARD FOR BEST JUNIOR FICTION BOOK 2023
Praise for Little Tales of Hedgehog and Goat
'Little Tales of Hedgehog and Goat just begs to be read aloud. It has the feel of a classic, with a wholesome, timeless, opposites-attract animal friendship...evocatively and firmly set on a New Zealand farm. To top it all off, it’s full of sweet black-and-white illustrations by one of the top illustrators of local kids’ books, Kimberly Andrews. A perfect, delicious package..'
JANE ARTHUR, GOOD BOOKS, DOMINION POST - 2022
JANE ARTHUR, GOOD BOOKS, DOMINION POST - 2022
'Children will find this book magical and want to read it again and again.'
MARIA GILL, KIDS BOOKS NZ 'It’s surprising just how much meaning can be packed into little tales, as this illustrated novel (ideal for readers aged six and up) reveals. When a hedgehog and a goat become the best of friends after meeting on a farm, the duo soon begins to relay stories of rural life with more than just a little child-friendly philosophy thrown in.' RURAL LIVING 'Making the most of what their paddock has to offer, three animals become close friends with the simplest things in life. They grumble and squabble, laugh and dance and talk about all and nothing as good friends do. When this friendship is tested, their bond holds true and a rescue made. Illustrations by Kimberly Andrews begin every tale and are peppered through the stories... I can imagine copies of Little Tales of Hedgehog and Goat staying on bookshelves for years to come as just like its gorgeous characters and setting on a NZ farm – it’s timeless.' WHAT BOOK NEXT? 'It might be "the most boring place in the world" but it's home to Goat, Hedgehog and a girl called Aroha. Sweetly simple stories by poet Paula Green, whimsically realised by illustrator Kimberly Andrews. Perfect for what the late John McIntyre, of The Children's Bookshop in Wellington, called "L-plate readers".' ANN PACKER, NZ LISTENER 50 BEST KIDS' BOOKS 'I love the soft gentle pace this book has. It is perfect for those readers who are looking for a story that is caring, quietly amusing and full of friendship and looking out for one another.' LOUANA MCCORMACK, READ NZ - THE SCHOOL LIBRARY |
'It’s a very rural, New Zealand setting including visits from kaka and pukeko, which kids will enjoy. Good for children learning to read bigger books, from 5 and up, with illustrations to break up the text. The last story is a triumph of friendship. A little treasure.'
ANN KILDUFF, WAIRARAPA TIMES-AGE 'Little Tales of Hedgehog and Goat is by Paula Green, illustrated by Kimberly Andrews (Puffin). * A chapter book of interlinked stories with the most charming characters. Reminiscent of The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse but with a distinctively Aotearoa New Zealand setting and flavour. A lonely Goat discovers a sad Hedgehog and an unexpected friendship is born. They problem-solve, argue, make up, dream and dance. Along with a young girl, Aroha, and the other farm animals, they are captured in delightful drawings (see the dancing horse!) by Kimberly Andrews. The stories are full of poetry and imagination. Perfect to read aloud when you’ve got those in-between times or independent reading by those newly confident readers.' NATIONAL LIBRARY: OUR BEST CHILDREN'S AND YA BOOKS FOR 2022 'Renowned New Zealand poet Paula Green has created a delightful, charming chapter book for 5–8-year-olds. This unexpected friendship, full of adventures, kindness, and wisdom, will warm the hearts of kids and any adults who might be reading it to them.' CAROLE BEU, PONSONBY NEWS '[A]n illustrated story brimming with adventure and wisdom. Whimsical illustrations by Kimberly Andrews add to the charm of this gentle novel.' NZ BOOKLOVERS |