Roly Poly Prickly Hedgehog

Sylvia Pantaleo is an assistant professor of education specializing in
children’s literature at Queen’s University and the co-author of
Learning with Literature in the Canadian Elementary Classroom.

Roly Poly Hedgehog loves to roll. His friend Mouse is angry with him
because Roly Poly ran into Mouse when they were rolling down the hill.
Roly Poly seeks advice from the wind about how to find Mouse. As he
searches for Mouse, Roly Poly encounters Hare, who offers suggestions
about how to roll with Mouse without hurting him. Then William Walking
Stick, who has been traveling on his quills, gives Roly Poly advice
about keeping promises. Eventually, Roly Poly finds Mouse and frees him
from a tin can. After finding a solution to their problem, the friends
go off to the park to find a lovely long hill.

The messages of this fable are important, but the text needed further
editing as there is more plot than necessary to tell the story. The
layout of the type is confusing; there is no obvious reason why all of
the line sweeps do not return to the left margin. The illustrations,
especially those of the animal characters, suffer from amateurism. Not a
first-choice purchase.