PORCUPINE AND CACTUS

Sometimes the best friend is the one who’s willing to listen.

A friendly but solitary young porcupine rises. After saying good morning to the sun, sky, and dirt, this quirky youngster heads out in hopes of finding someone to talk to. What’s that in the distance? A cactus! Pleased to encounter “another spiked specimen” and eager to chat, our hero isn’t bothered by the cactus’s inability to respond. Perhaps the cactus is “the strong, silent type,” the porcupine hypothesizes. Bright, funny, cartoonish illustrations complement the bubbly text as the porcupine enjoys a picnic with the unresponsive cactus, performs magic tricks, and chats on, oblivious. When a bird lands on the cactus, the porcupine asks, “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your plumed pal?” But the bird flies off after pooping on the porcupine, and the protagonist is peeved: “First you won’t even talk to me, and now your friend is rude!” Will the chatterbox porcupine figure out that the cactus is unable to speak? Maybe not, but this cactus may be just what the porcupine needs, and maybe words aren’t everything, after all! Children will delight in the realization that they know more about the cactus than the porcupine does and will laugh out loud at the misunderstandings that ensue.

A silly, entertaining tale of a very prickly friendship.