Tales from Prickly Hedge: Bubble & Squeek Make a New Friend

What are the chances of meeting a butterfly and your world is forever changed? Well, that’s just what happens to Bubble in this beautifully illustrated book.

Wise Belinda the butterfly sets Bubble, and her best friend, Squeek on a path to helping all of their wildlife friends who live at Prickly Hedge both survive and thrive.

It’s going to be quite a task as gardens become smaller and more animals and insects are being driven out of the countryside. They also have lots of friends, who are struggling to survive, including badgers, owls, birds and insects but they don't know how to help them, but they’re determined to learn and tell us humans what we need to do.

Learn about nature, friendship, community and the environment in this engaging little book.

Through the stories, children will learn how best to help the wildlife they love through really simple tasks like building log piles, recycling and even if they don't have a garden, how a simple pot of lavender on a doorstep can make a difference.

Kay, a school teacher here in the UK said, “it’s pitched perfectly and you want to read more about their adventures….And helping humans! It really is good. Can’t wait to see the final copy!”

This was great feedback from a schoolteacher who knows what is required for the age group and what is, and what is not, appropriate. Jen, Children’s Speech Therapist at Mindful Little Talkers and mum to twin boy and girl and another girl told me, “we got to read the story and my daughter liked it. Cute story. Congrats.”

Jen lives over in Colorado, USA and so it’s interesting that the story went down well in the States too.

And Children’s Anxiety Mindset Coach, Yvonne at YvonneJFox.com said, “Great, sweet book…I wish my little man brought home books like this with a message, gorgeous illustrations and such sweet characters…we need more books out there like this!”

The aim of the Prickly Hedge brand is to let children know that all their actions, however big or small, do matter as we fight to maintain the ecological diversity of our beautiful planet. This book is an introduction to the friends and where they live, it champions friendship and tolerance above all else and in future books, the friends will learn more about their wildlife friends and how we can help them thrive. The aims of the stories are to:

•Help children to look after their environment by doing simple things like planting herbs or lavender. •Help children to grow in confidence with a sense of self-worth and value in their ability to help the environment. •To give children a deeper sense of connection to wildlife and nature in our digitally-led world•To foster in children an inclusiveness and tolerance for others because they are our best advocates for this. •Provide children with activities to foster a love of nature and help us all re-wild ourselves.

So, whether you’re a parent, aunt, uncle, grandparent, carer or teacher, this book will serve as a springboard to helping your little one’s find easy ways to help the wildlife they love and the natural world they will need to preserve for our future.

About the Author

Prickly Hedge is run by me, Yvonne Richards. I live in the West Midlands in my very own Prickly Hedge – a beautiful garden that is home to all manner of wildlife.

This gave me the idea to create Bubble and Squeek, two hedgehogs who have fun and adventures in the garden they call their own, namely Prickly Hedge. Through the stories and their adventures, they learn how best to help all their wildlife friends. It is hoped that this will inspire young readers to engage more with wildlife and hopefully begin to not only help preserve it but create habitats in which it can thrive.

You can find out more about the Prickly Hedge books and merchandise at www.PricklyHedge.com