What could be more poignant than a porcupine pining for a companion? With prose filled with puns and pleasing pictures, this passionate tale of love and friendship between two prickly creatures in a petting zoo makes a perfect read aloud. Full color.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 1-Alone and unloved in the petting zoo, Cushion the porcupine laments his single state. He writes a four-line ditty expressing his woes and decides to court potential partners with a soulful serenade. Surprised and dismayed by his negative reception and totally unaware of the disparaging innuendoes in his personalized lyrics (he croons, "And though you're pink and fat," to the pig; "And though your teeth are bucky," to the beaver), he is about to give up when he meets Barb, a similarly solitary hedgehog. It's love at first sight-no "se-quill" necessary. This sweet and silly saga of the earnest but clueless lothario is a nicely paced combination of story and song (you'll need to make up your own brief tune) accompanied by cheerful watercolor-and-pastel illustrations. Cushion and friends are winsome and expressive and a little grasshopper companion that appears throughout the story is fun to locate. The full-bleed art will work well with an audience while the clever details and puns will bring a smile to children and adults alike. Sure to generate knowing and sympathetic chuckles, this title can be presented along with Helen Lester's A Porcupine Named Fluffy (Houghton, 1986) to make a humorous and prickly pair.
Carol Ann Wilson, Westfield Memorial Library, NJ
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Carol Ann Wilson, Westfield Memorial Library, NJ
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
About the Author
Lisa Wheeler is the author of Wool Gathering: A Sheep Family Reunion.
Janie Bynum has written and illustrated several books for children, including Altoona Baboona and Otis.
Janie Bynum has written and illustrated several books for children, including Altoona Baboona and Otis.
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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
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The story is delightful and the concept sharp,
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Porcupining: A Prickly Love Story (Hardcover)
Funny, punny author Lisa Wheeler is at it again in this follow up to her pun-filled "Sailor Moo" and " Wool Gathering" picture books. This time, a love-struck porcupine is (porcu)pining for a wife in this comic recasting of the "Froggy Went A'Courting" folk song. First Cushion (yes, as in pin cushion) has to suffer the indignity of being the least popular resident of a petting zoo, for obviously ouchy reasons. Then his lonesomeness is compounded each time he serenades a potential bride. The rabbits get hopping mad, the pigs grunt their disapproval, and the buck-toothed beaver gives him the brush off. But when a mysterious creature compliments Cushion 's beautiful singing and, though "DO NOT TOUCH" signs warn him to stay away, he is intrigued, particularly when she says her name is Barb, and she's got quills too. "You don't look like a pork or a pine!" says Barb. "You don't look like a hedge or a hog!" says Cushion. Of course the mismatched loners fall in love, otherwise -- as Wheeler writes, unable to resist one last pun -- "what would be the point of this whole story?" Although "Porcupining"'s simple prose text isn't as snappy or rich as the perfectly perfect satirical rhymes of "Sailor Moo," the story is delightful and the concept sharp, exhibiting plenty of prickly wit.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Sweet Read,
By
This review is from: Porcupining: A Prickly Love Story (Hardcover)
What a wonderful picture book! This book will continue to delight children and the lucky adults who get to read along. The art is wonderful too. Lucky for us there's a sequel to this book.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
fun for singing families,
By Laura Martineau (Willimantic, CT United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Porcupining: A Prickly Love Story (Hardcover)
We had fun with this one. Our six-year-old became a downright diva with the porcupine's songs, and the four-year-old kept her eyes open for the little grasshopper buddy. My husband and I liked the puns. I think we'll look for more by this author.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
Cushion was a porcupine with a problem. Read the first page New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | First Pages | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Cushion was a porcupine with a problem. Read the first page New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | First Pages | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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