The book Hayden The Perfect Hedgehog By Arla Jayne is a story about the life of an adorable pet hedgehog. In this book, you will read about Hayden’s first day in school and what his teacher has to say about him. You also get to see Hayden at home with his family, doing chores for them and playing games with his little brother. This is a delightful tale that children of all ages can enjoy!
“The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” – Dr. Seuss
Hayden is a happy little hedgehog with an adventurous spirit! This book tells his story as he goes to school for the first time and has adventures playing games at home with his family and friends. It’s never too early to start reading aloud to children so they can enjoy a love of books from an early age while building their vocabulary skills! Use this short biography (with illustrations!) to introduce your child or students to new words like “confused,” “hurry up,” and “chore!” This sweet story also offers opportunities for extension activities like crafts, science experiments, and making a bookmark, so use this as the impetus for some family fun!
I was really excited to read about Hayden’s adventures. He seemed like such an adventurous little hedgehog and I enjoyed reading his story with my son who is now two years old. It was never too early to start introducing him to books while he learned words that were meant for more advanced readers like “confused,” “hurry up,” and “chore!” My favorite part of reading this book aloud with him was seeing how inquisitive he became when we came across new vocabulary, it will be interesting to see if these same words stay in his vocabulary after our readings stop. As lot of the words he knows now we have pointed out to him in books or when reading aloud.
I love that Hayden is always so excited about his next adventure, I think it’s a great message for kids who are looking at their futures with uncertainty and fear – just keep going! His adventures teach us all how important curiosity can be through exploring new things, meeting people from different cultures (even animals) and learning about what they’re like. Though this story was written by an author in England, my son has never been there but had no problem following along because she uses descriptive language well enough that you could almost feel yourself walking alongside Hayden on each one of his trips. The book also contains some facts about hedgehogs which were fascinating to a child like mine – he loved learning about their quills for defense, how they mate and make homes.
Hayden’s personality also shines through in the illustrations, you can really see that he is always smiling and happy which I appreciate because it has been hard enough with all of his troubles lately without feeling bad on top of them! His adventures are fun but even Hayden knows when to slow down, as we all should. It was really great getting both perspectives, from Hayden and from Arla Jayne herself at different points in the book so there was an opportunity for some self-reflection which is something kids need more than ever these days. The last line “Goodbye Hayden” brought me right back into my own reality, it was almost like a goodbye to Hayden as well and I am so grateful for that.