Hokey Pokey: Another Prickly Love Story [Hardcover]

Lisa Wheeler (Author), Janie Bynum (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 4, 2006 | Grade Level: P and up

Cushion the porcupine and Barb the hedgehog, the adorable pair from "Porcupining: A Prickly Love Story," are back for another adventure. Barb loves to dance, but Cushion has two left feet, and usually ends up prickling someone with his quills. How will he ever learn to dance? Full color.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 1–Cushion, a porcupine, is in love with Barb, a hedgehog who loves to dance. But Cushion is totally inept at his friend's favorite activity. No matter how hard he tries, he always messes up. When Tally-Ho tries to teach him the fox trot, he trots right over the fox's bushy tail. While learning the bunny hop from Clover, he hops onto the rabbit's foot, and while attempting the funky chicken, he manages to shoot quills all over Biddy Hen's bottom. Finally Barb solves the problem by teaching him to dance herself, and they end on a note of triumph, dancing the night away with the Hokey Pokey, 'Cause that's what [friendship's] all about! This upbeat story with very affable characters is enhanced by whimsical illustrations that carry out the humor.–Sally R. Dow, Ossining Public Library, NY
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About the Author

Lisa Wheeler is the author of Porcupining: A Prickly Love Story and Wool Gathering: A Sheep Family Reunion.

Janie Bynum is the creator of Altoona Baboona and Otis and is the illustrator of our own Porcupining and Rock-a-Baby Band.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (January 4, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316000906
• ISBN-13: 978-0316000901
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 0.4 x 11.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #466,714 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

LISA WHEELER is the author of several award-winning picture books, including Sixteen Cows, One Dark Night, and Mammoths On the Move, which recently received a Parent's Choice Recommended Award. She lives near Detroit, Michigan. www.lisawheelerbooks.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Delightful Dance of Words and Sentiment, February 14, 2006

By 

Christine Louise Hohlbaum "award-winning auth... (near Munich, Germany) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hokey Pokey: Another Prickly Love Story (Hardcover)

Lisa Wheeler offers young readers a sweet story about a hedgehog named Cushion and his desire to learn how to dance to impress his girlfriend, Barb. After seeking assistance from various neighboring animals, he fails to learn how to do the steps without stepping on their toes. Discouraged, Cushion almost gives up until he learns the biggest lesson of all: real friends help us even when we're not perfect.

The colorful illustrations by Janie Bynum add to the linguistic humor. This book is great not only for young readers, but also for English language students who wish to learn American idioms. It would be a great textbook for English language schools for its bright storyline and brilliant word plays. I highly recommend it!

Christine Louise Hohlbaum, author of Diary of a Mother and SAHM I Am: Tales of a Stay-at-Home Mom in Europe, lives near Munich, Germany, with her husband and two children. http://www.diaryofamother.com

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars That's what it's all about, June 20, 2006

By 

Anne B. Levy "bookbuds.net" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hokey Pokey: Another Prickly Love Story (Hardcover)

This one's a lighthearted twirl around the dance floor with a love-struck porcupine, and we like it just fine around here.

Cushion loves Barb, a hedgehog (Barb, get it?), and Barb loves to dance. Cushion isn't exactly light on his feet. He takes lessons from various animals and fails at the foxtrot, funky chicken and bunny hop, but not before impaling his friends or leaving behind a few prickly souvenirs.

He despairs he'll ever impress Barb, until she sweeps him off his feet with a few heartfelt lessons on dancing and love. Gotta love those plucky types. Oh, the puns! Stop me, please.

The pastel art's about what you'd expect -- sunlit and sweet, with Cushion's quills expanding like a lion's mane as he trips over his two left paws.

What's best, I think, is how it appeals to a clumsy little kid. They're not too agile at this age -- remember that jumping, climbing and running are all recent accomplishments. Dancing, with its more precise movements, even when you're just rocking to a beat, must seem an Olympian feat.

So Cushion's an easy one for empathy as he bumbles his way about, makes a fool of himself and somehow still triumphs. We're not aiming for Fred Astaire here, just to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Most days, that's pretty cool by itself.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Children and adults will enjoy!, January 15, 2006

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hokey Pokey: Another Prickly Love Story (Hardcover)

Cushion is a porcupine--and he is in love with Barb, who happens to be a hedgehog. But Barb is not just any hedgehog. She is a hedgehog who loves to dance. But Cushion has no talent in the dancing department. It doesn't matter how hard Cushion tries; he just can't get it right.

Tally-ho is a fox who attempts to teach Cushion to dance the fox trot, but Cushion steps on Tally-ho's tail. Then Clover the bunny tries to teach Cushion the bunny hop but he hops on Clover's foot. Biddy Hen tries to teach Cushion the funky chicken but his quills hit an unintended mark.

Will Cushion ever learn to dance? Maybe he hasn't the right teacher. Could Barb herself teach him to dance?

Armchair Interviews says: We love this silly and lively story about friendship. And the illustrations are colorful and oh so delightful. Children and adults alike will enjoy this story again and again.