LUCKY PORCUPINE!

by Miriam Schlein ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1980

Lucky readers, who have Schlein to introduce them to this interesting creature--first seen, as it happens, ""way up in a tree."" ""What is she doing up there?"" Thus piqued, we learn that the porcupine is fleeing from a dog; this easily leads into the fate of another dog who cornered a porcupine, the various possible outcomes of similar encounters in the wild (some foiled predators might die, as the quills in their faces would keep them from eating), and the fact that porcupines don't really shoot their quills but just shake them out. (As for the treed porcupine, we learn later that she is capable of staying up there for weeks.) ""Have you ever seen a porcupine out in the woods?"" is how Schlein begins to tell us that the animals are nocturnal. Elsewhere, an autumn frenzy of running, scrapping, chasing, crying, moaning, and sobbing evokes the question ""What's all the excitement about?"" Only then, to an alerted audience, does Schlein reveal that ""It is the mating season."" Actually the ""lucky"" angle (lucky porcupine is a good climber, has a ""natural life jacket"" and a warm winter coat) isn't that productive, but there are several stronger hooks built into Schlein's presentation.

Pub Date: March 1, 1980

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Four Winds

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1980

Categories: NONFICTION