Hokey Pokey

Cushion the porcupine and Barb the hedgehog, the adorable pair from "Porcupining: A Prickly Love Story," are back for another adventure. Barb loves to dance, but Cushion has two left feet, and usually ends up prickling someone with his quills. How will he ever learn to dance? Full color.

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After a series of discouraging dance teachers, Cushion the porcupine finds his rhythm with his true love Barb.

Lisa Wheeler is the author of Porcupining: A Prickly Love Story and Wool Gathering: A Sheep Family Reunion.

Janie Bynum is the creator of Altoona Baboona and Otis and is the illustrator of our own Porcupining and Rock-a-Baby Band.

In this follow-up to Porcupining , Cushion (the porcupine) still loves Barb (the hedgehog), but trouble is brewing in the relationship. Barb loves to dance, but "Cushion's rumba was rumpled, his waltz wobbled, and his tango was totally tangled." Following the pattern of the last book, the hero requests dance lessons from other denizens in the petting zoo. A couple yield quite witty results (he attempts to learn the fox trot from the fox and the bunny hop from the rabbits), but all go nowhere. Cushion's quills quickly put an end to the proceedings. "My bottom looks like a dartboard!" says Biddy the hen while trying to teach him the funky chicken. "You're a cluck-cluck-clutz!" Of course, Cushion finds help in the place where he should have started: he and Barb wind up doing the title dance. Bynum's characterizations, especially of the wounded dance teachers, do not fully exploit the slapstick and emotional theatrics of the text. But Wheeler's always-reliable love of wordplay (example: the porcupine announces "No point in sticking around here," after accidentally stabbing the fox's tail with his quills) is in full throttle, providing children with plenty of giggle opportunities. Ages 4-8. (Jan.)

[Page 54]. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

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PreS-Gr 1 -Cushion, a porcupine, is in love with Barb, a hedgehog who loves to dance. But Cushion is totally inept at his friend's favorite activity. No matter how hard he tries, he always messes up. When Tally-Ho tries to teach him the fox trot, he trots right over the fox's bushy tail. While learning the bunny hop from Clover, he hops onto the rabbit's foot, and while attempting the funky chicken, he manages to shoot quills all over Biddy Hen's bottom. Finally Barb solves the problem by teaching him to dance herself, and they end on a note of triumph, dancing the night away with the Hokey Pokey, "'Cause that's what [friendship's] all about!" This upbeat story with very affable characters is enhanced by whimsical illustrations that carry out the humor.-Sally R. Dow, Ossining Public Library, NY

[Page 115]. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.