Go Home, Little One

Go Home, Little One! written and illustrated by Cate James (2015)

Florence the hedgehog lived under a tree with her mother, Mrs. Hedgehog. Her best friends Harry and Barry, the squirrel twins, lived upstairs. One day, Florence told her mother that she wanted to stay away through the winter instead of hibernating, so she could play with her friends. Mrs. Hedgehog told her she could play for a few more minutes, but that she had to be home for dinner. Florence didn’t listen to her mother. She and Harry and Barry hurried off into the woods, past Mrs. Rabbit, past Mr. Badger, and past Mr. Owl. Mrs. Rabbit, Mr. Badger, and Mr. Owl all told them it was time to go home, but they just went farther and farther into the woods. They went so far and were gone so long, that they got lost and it started to snow. Just then, Mr. Fox showed them his pointy teeth. The three friends decided it was best to go home then. They ran past Mr. Owl who distracted Mr. Fox for them. They ran past Mr. Badger who showed them the way home. They ran past Mrs. Rabbit who cheered them along. Finally, they found their tree. Mrs. Hedgehog had a feast prepared and they all sat down to eat before they went to bed.

A winter adventure for three little friends leads to a dangerous surprise. Thank goodness these friends have adults around to help them find their way home when a fox is after them.

Be ready for some winter adventures with your little ones this year, hopefully no bad experiences with a fox though. Look at some of these fun ideas.

 

Make your own SNOW.

Collect natural items on a walk and freeze in a plastic lid for beautiful winter art.

 

Use a tri-fold cardboard stand (sold as science fair display boards) to make your own Snowball Toss game. Decorate and cut out circles. Toss balls of yarn, styrofoam balls, or wadded up pieces of paper.