はりねずみのピックル　

　　

Book summary
Pickle, a hedgehog with pink cheeks, is really cute but has lots of spines. Because of his appearance, he doesn’t have any friends and doesn’t like himself. One day, he helps the caterpillar Flore, who’s being bullied, and they become good friends. They make wishes under the full moon, and her wish is to become a beautiful butterfly, while his is to have soft hair. One morning, ……。

I’m not going to give it all away for you.

Please enjoy reading it.

Why I chose this book
1. The warm colors of the pictures are easy on the eyes and make me feel calm.

2. My son likes his hedgehog doll named Harry.

Comments
Every time I read this book, I’m in tears. The gentle touch of the artwork softens the serious themes of friendship damaged by appearances. Pickle grows up with a lot of love from his parents, and because he’s such a warmhearted boy he helps Flore deal with the bullies. However, he faces the painful experience of bullying because of his appearance and feels envious, mean and lonely. When I read the last scene, in which the raccoon holds him tightly, I think that there’s a world that will surely accept you if children become better at accepting others.