Author: Vanita Oelschlager
Publisher: Vanita Books
Rating: WORTHY!
Illustrated by Mike Blanc.
Contrary to what might be a popular perception, porcupines are rodents (the third largest after the capybara and the beaver) which aren't confined to North America. They also exist in southern Europe, Africa, India and elsewhere.
This is an intelligently-constructed story which is aimed at helping adopted children to understand that though they were not born into their family, it doesn't mean they're not family, and it doesn't mean that they're not loved as family. Employing the prickly porcupine as a teaching-tool is an inspired idea!
In the story, Porcupette's mom disappears one night while out searching for food, and poor Porcupette is left without a family. After giving up waiting for mom to return, Porcupette sets out in search of her one wintry day. Unable to discover what happened to her, he ends up adopted by a bear family after sneaking into their warn den to escape the chilly night air.
Porcupette proves to be as prickly in personality as his growing protective coat renders him in reality, and he begins inadvertently risking precipitation the very thing he fears - rejection by his adoptive family. Tension spikes and it becomes more than he can bear, so he decides to leave home once again in search of happiness and family.
What he didn’t expect is the behavior of momma bear and her two cubs, and so he learns a useful lesson and finds a family he can call home. I think this is a cute story about round holes and square quills, and useful as a teaching tool. It strikes me that this is not only of utility if you have an adopted child, but also if you want your children to learn about adoption and how it works, to give them a greater understanding of the children they may meet.
Even in nature, one species has been known to adopt another. There's a show on Netflix: Animal Odd Couples, which amply demonstrates this: the goat leading the blind horse, the deer which adopted a dog, the dog which adopted a deer, the cheetah and the dog best friend, the duck and the tortoise, the coyote and the lion. These aren't fairy tales, but real life. I'm sure you can find a score of them on You Tube.
I recommend this book.
