SCHOOL FOR WOODLAND CREATURES

“She was going to have to embrace this change, whether she wanted to or not.”

Given that the Winnie-the-Pooh books (Castillo’s most obvious influence) ended with Christopher Robin starting school, it makes total sense that this story begins with that same earth-shattering rite of passage. It’s tan-skinned young Annika Mae’s first day, and her leaving inspires her woodland friends (last seen in 2022’s A Place To Call Home) to create a school of their own. Everyone will teach the subject in which they are an expert. Hedgehog, beset by anxiety on a normal day, now finds herself wracked with indecision. She loves art, but is she an “expert” at it? After Owl teaches beginning vocabulary, Beaver building, Mole geography, and Hen math (all to varying degrees of success), Hedgehog has an encounter with Annika Mae that changes her perspective on doing what you love. Like the other books in the series, this one taps into the best elements of classic bedtime read-alouds (the first sentence of Chapter 1 begins with “In the great forest, beside the river, in a cozy fort”). Mild conflicts between characters are gently resolved, and the author displays a pitch-perfect understanding of child psychology as she explores Hedgehog’s uncertainties. Alongside her deft language, Castillo works in some humor, too, as when Owl’s incessant corrections are “bird-splained” to the other teachers.

Cheery comforts and the lightest of personality clashes define this newest entry in an already wonderful series.