Welcome to the 2021 Tails and Tales summer!
Tails and Tales is the theme of our summer reading program , so we’ll be featuring animals all summer long! Our “Weekend Fun” blogs will feature a “Tail of the Week” – and this week, it’s …
Hedgehogs!
Wait – do hedgehogs have tails? Yes, they do! Their tiny tail is hidden under all those sharp quills. Hedgehogs are featured in literature and media, too.
You may remember Mr. Pricklepants, who is one of Bonnie’s toys in Toy Story 3. You may have played a game with Sonic the Hedgehog. But have you read The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle by Beatrix Potter? She is the busy hedgehog who does the laundry for all of the animals, and it’s a story well worth reading.
Visit the Library to read it or check it out and then extend the story with a craft!
Make a Paper Hedgehog
What you need:
- assortment of paper
- pencil
- round object to trace (a peanut butter jar lid is perfect, but any round shape will work)
- scissors
- glue stick or tape
- black marker
What you do:
- Trace three or more circles on any color paper using the jar lid as a template. Use tans and browns for a realistic hedgehog, or any color you like for a fanciful one. You can even make a rainbow hedgehog!
- Trace one in white or a neutral color for the head.
- Cut out the circles. TIP: Move the paper around when you cut and keep the scissors in the same place.
- Put the white circle aside for later.
- Fold the other circles in half, and then cut along the fold to make half circles. Use three half circles for each hedgehog.
- Make a snip with the scissors at the center of the rounded side of each half circle and then snip four cuts on either side of the first cut. Keep your cuts close to the center.
- Turn these half circles into cones: Bring the sides of the straight edge together, and glue or tape into a cone shape. TIP: Use lots of glue and rub over it with your fingers. You may need to hold it shut and count to ten.
- Take the white half circle and bring the straight edges together, overlapping slightly to form a cone. Don’t snip this one! Glue the edges together where they overlap. Draw eyes and a nose on it to make the hedgehog’s face.
- Put glue inside the head cone and take one of the other cones and stick it inside so that part of it sticks out. Repeat with the other snipped cones.
Your hedgehog is finished! Make a family of hedgehogs in a rainbow of colors in different sizes (TIP: Use different size jar lids as templates). Give them names and write stories about them. What if they were the great-nieces and nephews of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle?
Join the summer reading program online at the Library website, and enjoy Tails and Tales all summer long! All reading counts, and your reading can earn you some special trinket prizes!
