LitPick Review
All that Prickles the porcupine wants to do is relax in some peace and quiet so he can sleep. When his neighbor, Patty the puppy, comes along, she starts to dig like crazy near Prickles’ den. This makes him very mad. Patty doesn’t understand that Prickles sleeps during the day and at night he looks for food, unlike other animals. Prickles comes up with a few ways to scare Patty in hopes that she will stop digging in the dirt and leave for good. So he decides to curl into a tight, prickly ball and hopes that Patty will be so scared of him that she runs home. Instead, she sits down and talks to him asking why he’s so upset. Are they able to work through their differences enough that they both are happy in the end?
Opinion:
I thought this was such a cute story for readers to enjoy. I loved how it showed that both Prickles and Patty wanted different things and because of lack of communication, their problem escalated. Instead of getting mad and trying to scare Patty, which didn’t originally work out when Prickles tried it, the story changed direction to show that through communication things can be reached between them. I feel children will learn that when you are upset with someone else, it’s best to calmly talk your feelings out with the other person. In doing so, you will achieve better results between both parties. Fighting and acting out is never a solution to your problems.
One thing that concerned me with the storyline was how it portrayed Patty the puppy going off into the forest area to go dig some holes without her family noticing she was gone. I’m concerned that children might think that it’s fine to leave an animal companion alone to entertain themselves, when that truly isn’t the case. Children mirror things that they see and hear, and I’m just concerned that a child might see this as something that is fine to do with your animal companions.
The illustrations were provided by Getty Images and could be found on every other page encompassing the entire page. They were done in darker, muted tones and were consistent throughout the story considering they were stock images supplied. The images definitely complemented the story the author wrote.
J. M. Ashmore is based out of Tampa, Florida and specializes her writing in Christian children’s books. She loves teaching children about God’s characters and this inspires her to continue writing for children.
Prickles the Porcupine Learns about Peace is a book that will teach children that talking out your differences is always the right way to approach a problem. This story has two adorable characters that readers will get to know while learning a valuable lesson as they turn the pages.
