What do you think?
Rate this book
Hedgie #2
Hedgie's Surprise
Jan Brett 's beloved character Hedgie stars in this charming story about a little Tomten who gets tired of porridge for breakfast and starts stealing Henny's eggs. But Henny wants a brood of chicks and she needs her eggs. With the help of clever Hedgie, she substitutes an acorn, a strawberry, a mushroom and finally a potato in her nest. But nothing stops that Tomten until the little hedgehog hides in Henny's when the Tomten reaches in to get his morning treat, all he gets is a handful of prickles. He runs home for porridge and never comes back again! Intricate needlepoint patterns of Scandinavian designs frame the characters reacting from the borders in this beautiful picture book set in Denmark.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2000
About the author
Jan Brett
111 books973 followersWith over thirty three million books in print, Jan Brett is one of the nation's foremost author illustrators of children's books. Jan lives in a seacoast town in Massachusetts, close to where she grew up. During the summer her family moves to a home in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts.
As a child, Jan Brett decided to be an illustrator and spent many hours reading and drawing. She says, "I remember the special quiet of rainy days when I felt that I could enter the pages of my beautiful picture books. Now I try to recreate that feeling of believing that the imaginary place I'm drawing really exists. The detail in my work helps to convince me, and I hope others as well, that such places might be real."
As a student at the Boston Museum School, she spent hours in the Museum of Fine Arts. "It was overwhelming to see the room-size landscapes and towering stone sculptures, and then moments later to refocus on delicately embroidered kimonos and ancient porcelain," she says. "I'm delighted and surprised when fragments of these beautiful images come back to me in my painting."
Travel is also a constant inspiration. Together with her husband, Joe Hearne, who is a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Jan visits many different countries where she researches the architecture and costumes that appear in her work. "From cave paintings to Norwegian sleighs, to Japanese gardens, I study the traditions of the many countries I visit and use them as a starting point for my children's books."
--from www.janbrett.com
As a child, Jan Brett decided to be an illustrator and spent many hours reading and drawing. She says, "I remember the special quiet of rainy days when I felt that I could enter the pages of my beautiful picture books. Now I try to recreate that feeling of believing that the imaginary place I'm drawing really exists. The detail in my work helps to convince me, and I hope others as well, that such places might be real."
As a student at the Boston Museum School, she spent hours in the Museum of Fine Arts. "It was overwhelming to see the room-size landscapes and towering stone sculptures, and then moments later to refocus on delicately embroidered kimonos and ancient porcelain," she says. "I'm delighted and surprised when fragments of these beautiful images come back to me in my painting."
Travel is also a constant inspiration. Together with her husband, Joe Hearne, who is a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Jan visits many different countries where she researches the architecture and costumes that appear in her work. "From cave paintings to Norwegian sleighs, to Japanese gardens, I study the traditions of the many countries I visit and use them as a starting point for my children's books."
--from www.janbrett.com
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 128 reviews
April 3, 2020
Another entry in the Hedgie series. This was fun to read. I suspected the ending and I was rewarded in kind. Our story is about Henney the Hen. A boy steals her eggs every morning and she wants to have children like the goose. She bemoans the egg thief. Hedgie comes along to help her. Together they plot a way to fool the boy. The boy is relatively lazy. He steals an egg, eats it and then sleeps the rest of the day.
One morning he pulls out an acorn. Then other things are pulled out, all interesting and fun. Hedgie fixes that boy good, let me tell you, he’s a smart hedgehog.
The artwork is lovely. Jan Brett is on her details game here.
The nephew enjoyed all the surprises the boy pulled out. He especially loved the ending and watching the boy run away. This would make a great little short. He gave this 3 stars. He thought it could have been more exciting.
One morning he pulls out an acorn. Then other things are pulled out, all interesting and fun. Hedgie fixes that boy good, let me tell you, he’s a smart hedgehog.
The artwork is lovely. Jan Brett is on her details game here.
The nephew enjoyed all the surprises the boy pulled out. He especially loved the ending and watching the boy run away. This would make a great little short. He gave this 3 stars. He thought it could have been more exciting.
December 29, 2008
2 Stars for the Story--Four Stars for the Illustrations.
SPOILERS:
Okay, how could I not love a story where a hedgehog is the hero of the tale!? Go, Hedgie!!! But, however cute Hedgie and Henny might be, the tale left me a bit annoyed. I'm not clear what the "moral" of the story is (aside from helping one's friends) because the naughty elf that keeps stealing Henny's eggs (and is eventually thwarted by Hedgie) doesn't seem to suffer more than a prick when Hedgie pretends to be an egg at the end. But there is no prickle of his conscience!!! The naughty lad goes right home and gets a delicious breakfast of porridge from his mother, further proving that he stole Henny's eggs only because he is spoiled. While I think Brett meant for this to be a happily-ever-after for all involved, I felt that a bit more justice needed to be served on our "rotten egg" of a thief.
SPOILERS:
Okay, how could I not love a story where a hedgehog is the hero of the tale!? Go, Hedgie!!! But, however cute Hedgie and Henny might be, the tale left me a bit annoyed. I'm not clear what the "moral" of the story is (aside from helping one's friends) because the naughty elf that keeps stealing Henny's eggs (and is eventually thwarted by Hedgie) doesn't seem to suffer more than a prick when Hedgie pretends to be an egg at the end. But there is no prickle of his conscience!!! The naughty lad goes right home and gets a delicious breakfast of porridge from his mother, further proving that he stole Henny's eggs only because he is spoiled. While I think Brett meant for this to be a happily-ever-after for all involved, I felt that a bit more justice needed to be served on our "rotten egg" of a thief.
September 4, 2024
Beautiful illustrations!
The story is full of terror and longing and joy. And told very well!
A chicken longs to have a family, but her egg is taken every morning by the elven boy. Finding her weeping, her neighbor the hedgehog sets out to help her save her eggs.
The story is full of terror and longing and joy. And told very well!
A chicken longs to have a family, but her egg is taken every morning by the elven boy. Finding her weeping, her neighbor the hedgehog sets out to help her save her eggs.
January 21, 2012
Whenever we read one of Jan Brett's books, we are sure to look for any hidden (or obvious) hedgehogs in the illustrations and the borders of the illustrations. It's become a bit of a treasure hunt for us. Our girls have loved hedgehogs ever since they got to pet one at a local library event featuring a wild animal rescue center. They are certainly adorable! So when we saw that Hedgie had his own series of books, we certainly wanted to check them out.
Overall, however, we weren't all that thrilled with this story. It was okay, but not one of our favorites. Still, the illustrations are just as terrific as we've come to expect by this author and we really enjoyed seeing lots of Hedgie.
April 2012 update: We heard this story again during a Spring Break library program that featured two live hedgehogs. The Tomten in the story reminded me of the the April 2012 - Mystical/Magical Creatures themed reads at the Picture-Book Club in the Children's Books Group here at Goodreads.
Overall, however, we weren't all that thrilled with this story. It was okay, but not one of our favorites. Still, the illustrations are just as terrific as we've come to expect by this author and we really enjoyed seeing lots of Hedgie.
April 2012 update: We heard this story again during a Spring Break library program that featured two live hedgehogs. The Tomten in the story reminded me of the the April 2012 - Mystical/Magical Creatures themed reads at the Picture-Book Club in the Children's Books Group here at Goodreads.
June 17, 2018
Hedgie is my absolute favorite character in all of Jan Brett's magnificent books!
He is such a helpful and sweet creature; fiercely protective of his friends and always willing to go the extra mile!
So, is it any wonder I loved this book?
As usual, Brett's illustrations are just outstanding! I love looking in the margins and all around the pages, to discover all the hidden treasures!
And, like Hedgie, I love happy endings!
He is such a helpful and sweet creature; fiercely protective of his friends and always willing to go the extra mile!
So, is it any wonder I loved this book?
As usual, Brett's illustrations are just outstanding! I love looking in the margins and all around the pages, to discover all the hidden treasures!
And, like Hedgie, I love happy endings!
December 24, 2016
Felt long. Tomten looked like an 8 yo boy, not a more gnome-like farm-elf. For once Brett's art didn't overwhelm, but then neither was it special.
February 21, 2019
Hedgie helps his neighbor in a cute way.
May 12, 2022
Another beautiful tale by Jan Brett.
Hedgie and Henny work together to save her eggs from the greedy little Tomten (Scandinavian gnome.)
Moral of the story: eat your porridge.
Hedgie and Henny work together to save her eggs from the greedy little Tomten (Scandinavian gnome.)
Moral of the story: eat your porridge.
April 30, 2024
A clever hedgehog comes to the rescue of a little hen, disturbed to have her daily egg stolen. I realize this is a fable, but still--if eggs only took two to five days to hatch, the whole world would be awakened at dawn by a plethora of roosters.
I always like Jan Brett's illustrations.
I always like Jan Brett's illustrations.
March 28, 2023
I must say upfront, I am a HUGE Jan Brett fan. Her illustrations are gorgeous and incredibly detailed. However, this story was less-than-great for me and as others have mentioned, the title is misleading. I read the first couple pages to my children and wondered when Hedgie was going to come into the story (he is in the side panel drawings, but does not enter the text for several pages). I had to look up what a Tomten is (similar to an elf, living exclusively on farms), which could be an interesting cultural lesson on the side. I also found myself a bit irritated at the end when Henny is wondering where Hedgie hid her eggs, then suddenly they start hatching, because I felt that is a confusing to children and would explain that eggs need to be kept very warm (usually by the mother hen or an incubator) in order to hatch. Having said all that, my children enjoyed it, and it will be read many more times as part of our summer picture books.
January 9, 2020
This might be my favorite Jan Brett thus far. I’m a huge fan of her books (ever since I was a child), and especially her artwork. This book has a hedgehog character, which I am very partial to. The story is cute and touching. I love the friendship between Henny and Hedgie. This book is about friendship and cleverness.
The cross-stitch art goes perfect with the stunning scenes. A delightful book to read. Definitely need this one for my collection.
The cross-stitch art goes perfect with the stunning scenes. A delightful book to read. Definitely need this one for my collection.
January 21, 2018
I thought the title was misleading. There was not a surprise in the book, unless you call helping an individual in need as a surprise. The illustrations were highly detailed and I enjoyed looking intently at each page. The story-line was predictable and I did not find an originality in the story (the illustrations were more interesting).
June 27, 2019
Oh my gosh, while I absolutely loved the illustrations as usual, especially the side ones that look like cross-stitch, this story just wasn't what I was hoping for. I could see little ones not wanting to eat eggs again, fearing they would be eating baby chickens! Yikes. Not one I would be getting to read to the littles.
February 6, 2020
I read this one to my fifth grade students yesterday for World Read Aloud Day just for fun, but I could see it being used as a number of lessons (predicting, characterizations, story extension, author study, etc). My students seemed to really enjoy it, and the illustrations live up to Jan Brett's reputations of intricate and careful detail.
February 15, 2020
Just read to my grandsons. They enjoyed the suspense.
April 5, 2018
Hedgie helps Henny keep and hide her eggs from Tomten, a little troll, who takes her egg each morning for his breakfast. Henny wants to hatch her eggs into chicks, so Hedgie tricks Tomten which allows Henny to hatch her eggs into chicks.
September 24, 2018
This book is about friendship. We often believe that friends should stick up for each other. Hedgie stood up for Henny. If Hedgie wouldn't have then he may have lost his friend to the Tomten's stomach. Friendship is important in life otherwise we would be lonely and possibly depressed.
December 29, 2018
Jan Brett writes a beautiful story but the true star of the show are her gorgeous illustrations. I love how the stunning art in the central picture is augmented by the secondary story being told in the images in the side bar. She is a tee master of her craft.
November 15, 2020
Tomten(a boy, an elf, a troll?) takes Henny's egg every day for breakfast. Henny would like to have a family of chicks;this goal seems impossible until her friend Hedgie steps in and devises a plan! Beautifully illustrated and written by Jan Brett.
September 9, 2013
The story was more like a low 3-star but Brett's illustrations are lovely as always.
September 2, 2015
Nothing special.
May 18, 2017
Jan Brett tells the story of a Hedgehog and his friend chicken. The chicken wants to have chicks but her eggs are always stolen. How can she save them? That's where Hedgie comes in!
June 5, 2017
I am a true fan of Jan Brett! Always love her books and want to collect them all for my grandbaby bookshelf!
July 16, 2017
Jan Brett fills every page with magic and beauty.
September 12, 2017
This book is such a great read for children! It has wonderful illustrations and a great story line!
April 15, 2018
Jann Brett is amazing. I’ve read all her books to my students and own children as well. This is one of her best.
August 18, 2018
Creative problem solving allows Hedgie to help the hen keep her eggs so they can hatch to chicks instead of being stolen by the Tomten.
October 23, 2018
One detail I find interesting is the cover and illustrations are made to look embroidered. A nice book to read to children.
November 29, 2018
Very nice story and great illustrations.
December 29, 2018
Hedgie helps his friend Henny save her eggs.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 128 reviews