Elmore by Holly Hobbie
today’s children storybook summary is
Elmore
By Holly Hobbie
The takeaway: Make yourself known before asking for understanding and friendship from others. Show them that the rough side of you is nothing else than a shield for your protection. And they have nothing to fear.
Storyline
Elmore, a porcupine who lives in an old maple tree, feels lonely and decides to make some friends. There were many other animals in the woods he could play with.
So, he wrote a note and posted it on the trunk of the tree that held his house: “Friends wanted.” Then he waited. Rabbits, hedgehogs, and raccoons, to name just a few, stopped by but didn’t dare to come closer. He was too prickly and hard to be around, they whispered.
Indeed, his quills, spiky and sharp, rattled when he shook his back. Though the quills were there to protect him from danger, they also scared away anyone who wanted to make friends with him. He wished he could do something about it. But what?
One day, his uncle stopped by. He noticed that Elmore was not himself. He was sad and troubled. Elmore complained to his uncle that his quills were the reason he didn’t have friends. But his uncle did not agree. He said that Elmore should be proud of them and treasure them. After all, he was a porcupine, and that’s how porcupines are.
Elmore thought about being a porcupine, and when he went back to his den, he noticed that the floor was littered with quills. He had an idea. He gathered the quills, sharpened them into pens, and made several bundles. Then, he wrote a note and put it on the trunk of the tree: Elmore’s quill pens are 100 percent real porcupine quills free.
His quill pens were well received by his neighbors, who bought them all. Elmore even taught them how to make ink out of berries and used them to write notes to their friends. But most of all, it didn’t look like the forest animals were afraid of Elmore anymore. They showed their appreciation by writing friendly notes to him, one saying that the woods are lucky to have such a beautiful porcupine. Signed: “your friends.”
Characters
Elmore, a lonely porcupine who needs friends; Elmore’s uncle, an older porcupine who wears glasses; animals of the woods.
Illustration
Holly Hobbie, the illustrator of this book, uses a clean brush and a focused visual to show the story in a compelling way. Her drawings converge on the essential parts of the tale, depicting the characters in their environment in an economical way. No unnecessary details clutter the page, no out-of-order colors, and no-nonsense arrangement of the pictures. Overall, her soft colors and concise strokes make the illustration enjoyable and complement the storyline.
Theme: Friendship
Recommended Age: 3 to 5
Reading Time: 5 minutes
Things to Learn
Porcupine: A porcupine is a small animal in the rodent family. Specific to this animal is that his body is covered in spikes, or quills, that help him protect against predators.
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