What a wonderful invitation into the Autumn season and the wonders of life within the hedgerow.
The Happy Hedgerow, written by Elena Mannion and illustrated by Erin Brown, is a story of hope calling for our attention to the humble hedgerow. It follows the experiences of Old Oak, nestled amongst his hedgerow in his barely field. As readers, we witness Old Oak as he processes the impact of a farmer's interference with a neighbouring hedgerow
A beacon of comfort, protection and life, Old Oak offers young readers a wonderfully endearing insight into the wonders of life and learning bestowed within the hedgerow.
Albeit a contemporary text, The Happy Hedgerow offers a delightfully traditional tone and traditional details of nature through the intricate yet inviting illustrations of wildlife, shrubbery and foliage portrayed from cover to cover. The autumnal tones create a warmth and comfort many of us with older 'reading eyes' may be enabled to associate with palettes from our familiar old favourites.
For the classroom:
The Happy Hedgerow offers opportunities to explore themes of nature, habitats, biodiversity and environmental protection. The illustrations and labelling, invite young readers to explore plant and animal names triggering endless extended learning opportunities across Geography, Science and Literacy. The Happy Hedgerow would make a wonderful addition to a classroom collection; a text which which would share delight and learning for the very youngest readers to the more senior age categories within the school.
A beautiful text and story inviting young readers into conversations around protection and care for the aspects and features of nature we may often neglect, take for granted, or even harm.
The Happy Hedgerow was released for publication on September 2nd and I have been delighted to participate in the Instagram book tour. There are several reviews yet to come, keep an eye out - and in the meantime, why not check back for some of the previous reviews.
Thank you to Pikki Publishing and Elena Mannion for my gifted copy of the text; it's certainly a text I look forward to revisiting, rereading and sharing.
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