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Summary
Summary
Hedgehog has to go away--""for five long days--""and Mouse has to stay at home alone. How they will miss each other! In alternating scenes, Hedgehog and Mouse count down the days, always thinking of their absent friend.
""Five days until I see my mouse. Today I went to the beach where I found a seashell. I'm going to bring it home to my mouse.
Five more days until I'll see my hedgehog again. Every night at eight o'clock, I look at the bright star to the left of the moon. And then we think about each other.""
But on the day of their reunion a misunderstanding finds them both all alone at the train station. Did Hedgehog decide not to return? Has Mouse forgotten him? Absence does indeed make the heart grow fonder in this sweet story.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-Hedgehog and Mouse declare how much they miss one another during Hedgehog's five-day vacation at the shore. He thinks of her each day, and they exchange letters. He meets others on his trip, but soon realizes that he could never find as good a friend as Mouse. She thinks, "Three days left until Hedgehog comes home." Full-bleed color illustrations face pages of text and a smaller picture. The tender artwork serves to move the story along to the penultimate spread, at the train station. Children can look for Hedgehog, who is partially obscured in one part of the scene, while Mouse searches in another corner. As the page is turned, readers are reassured that the friends find one another. In addition, young readers can practice counting back down from the five vacation days each time the story is repeated. Use this simple story with children who might be missing someone to give them the reassurance that the anticipated day will indeed arrive.-Blair Christolon, Prince William Public Library System, Manassas, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
The title of an old Rodgers and Hart standard, "Glad to Be Unhappy," aptly describes the mood of this strikingly visualized work. Hedgehog and Mouse have been apart for five days while Hedgehog travels. The fellow collects a seashell at a windswept, wintry-looking beach so Mouse can "hold it to her ear and listen to the sound of the sea. That way, it will almost seem as if she had been here with me." At home, Mouse thinks of Hedgehog even when she's playing hide-and-seek with someone else, and listens to "the song that Hedgehog and I always dance to." Petz's (Mona the Monster Girl) text may sound sappy, but Greban's (The Dearest Little Mouse in the World) spectacular watercolors leaven the proceedings. The paintings are by turns austere and voluptuous, evocative and elusive. In one scene that brings to mind Bertolucci, Hedgehog walks intently with a rabbit couple he has met, while three windmills churn on an otherwise barren landscape. The book falters only at the very end, when Petz and Greban stage a missed meeting at the station that smacks of An Affair to Remember that likely won't register with young readers. Otherwise, there's an almost cinematic magic at work as the couple counts down the days until the big reunion. Ages 4-up. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Separated for five long days, Hedgehog and his dear friend Mouse count down the days until they are happily reunited in this story told through the two characters' alternating viewpoints. Children will probably understand the characters' sadness and joy of reunion. However, despite GrTban's soft and playful illustrations, the tale will speak the loudest to sentimental adults. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
PreS-Gr. 2. A familiar theme of friends suffering the pangs of separation is individualized with a simple plot construct and charming watercolor illustrations. In alternating narratives by Hedgehog (he) and Mouse (she)\b , the book counts down the five days before Hedgehog returns home,\b during which the two exchange airmail letters carried by a gull with a mailbag. Each night at the same time, Mouse and Hedgehog look up at the bright star just to the left of the moon and think of each other. Although Hedgehog and Mouse miss one another other at the train station, they are finally reunited and vow always to travel together. Each double-page spread comprises a full-page\b illustration set opposite spot art and text. Touches of the tale's Swiss origin occasionally appear (for example, windmills in the background), but the focus is clearly on the relationship of an unlikely but likable pair. A tranquil animal romance, gentle and appealing. --Julie Cummins Copyright 2005 Booklist