Hedgehog or Echidna?
Animals who are the same . . . but different!
By Ashleigh Barton & Amandine Thomas
Reviewed by Barbara Braxton
Hedgehog and Echidna stop in their shuffly tracks when they meet each other in the forest, surprised to meet someone who is so similar to them but really very different. And so begins a conversation between the two as they compare their differences, not only educating themselves but also the young reader who may be familiar with both from their storybooks and perhaps in real life -although hedgehogs not only do not live here, but it is illegal to keep one – but not yet able to distinguish one from the other.
Having discovered that they, themselves, are very different despite appearance, the conversation then turns to other animals around the world that are often mistaken for each other, including crocodiles and alligators, llamas and alpacas, rabbits and hares, ostriches and emus and even eels and sea snakes.
Written in rhyme with stunning illustrations that convey the status or each animal through their facial expressions bringing them to life in the way a photograph doesn’t, this is a book that makes you wonder why it hasn’t been written before! It has heaps of potential to spark investigations into each of the creatures – who knows how to distinguish a magpie from a raven, rook, jackdaw or crow? – as well as looking for others that could become extra pages in the book. For younger readers, it also builds on those initial compare-and-contrast exercises that they engage in, demonstrating that there can be other attributes to look for beyond size, shape, colour and purpose, perhaps beginning with a comparison of similarities and differences between them and their best friend with valuable lessons about still being friends despite being different.
Having lived in New Zealand where we regularly left a dish of milk for the hedgehog who visited each night, and in Australia where we have them waddling around on their endless search for ants, and still fascinated by the experiences, a fact that I know that isn’t mentioned in the book is that hedgehogs DON’T uproot your pot plants to find a place to sleep! LOL.
Lothian Children’s, 2025
Ashleigh Barton
Amandine Thomas
Reproduced with permission
