Big Hedgehog and Little Hedgehog
Take an Evening Stroll
Written and illustrated by Britta
Teckentrup
Translated from German by Nicola
Stuart
Prestel Publishing, Random House
Publishing Group, 2022
“Big Hedgehog and Little Hedgehog
Take an Evening Stroll” is a beautifully illustrated story about slowing down to appreciate nature.
The parent and child hedgehogs
take a leisurely walk home. Little Hedgehog keeps asking Big Hedgehog to wait so
they can take in the beauty of the evening. Big Hedgehog patiently stops again
and again before telling Little Hedgehog that they have to move on.
The two stop to watch the sun set
and the moon rise. They stop to smell beautiful wildflowers, to visit owls, and
wait for the moon to come out from behind a cloud. They stop to say goodnight to fish and frogs,
and to watch fireflies dance. Finally, they stop to count the stars.
In the last pages, Big Hedgehog again tells Little Hedgehog they should go on because they are almost home. Then he discovers that Little Hedgehog has fallen asleep.
Britta Teckentrup’s mixed media illustrations
combine textured collage and soft color. The lovely images set the relaxed mood
of the story making it a wonderful bedtime story. Children can find small details – like a lady bug, a moth,
squirrels, and a dragonfly in the pictures.
My only criticism is that the author makes the hedgehogs’ home a house rather than a more realistic nest or burrow. This is particularly jarring because nature is portrayed in a realistic way in the rest of the book.
About the Author-Illustrator
Britta Teckentrup is an award-winning German author, illustrator, and fine artist. She has written and illustrated over 120 picture books that have been translated into over thirty languages. Her books include “The Egg,” “Alle Wetter,” “Don’t Wake Up Tiger,” and “Under the Same Sky.” She lives in Berlin, Germany, with her husband and son.
