Hedgehogs Don’t Wear Underwear, comment charmant

Hedgehogs Don’t Wear Underwear runs with energy. It runs at the same pace as Kermit the Frog; frantically waving his arms as he’s introducing The Muppet Show. Soon he’ll become exasperated with Gonzo about some wacky scheme, probably involving a chicken, and you’re wondering why books can’t give you that same reaction. But it can, the reaction is held within the container that the show or book, resides in. It’s incredibly fun to watch, gives you a mile-wide grin just watching it, but is never in danger of bubbling over or becoming too much. Plus, Hedgehogs Don’t Wear Underwear features Jacques, a French-speaking hedgehog, sight gags, bright colors, talking animals, and a big secret.

Young readers love a secret. Kids that age all have a secret. Your students or children have big or small things that they don’t want to share yet…and in Jacques’ case, it’s that he wears underwear. One day, he wakes up and realizes that underwear is for him.

The great thing about The Muppet Show is that it had jokes that worked on different levels at the same time. Hedgehogs Don’t Wear Underwear works that way too. Jacques realizes he wants to start wearing underwear when a balloon drifts down to his bed while he’s in the burrow. The tag on the underwear says “To: Jacques, From:  The Universe.” Young readers in elementary school won’t pick up on the humor referencing who gave Jacques the underwear. However, they will laugh out loud when they see the next page and there’s a heart in his eyes whilst looking at the underwear.

There’s a snake and a turtle on that page, too. They look like they want to see underwear in the same light, but they haven’t gotten the memo yet. That is the vibe that pre-k kids want to get. It’s one of the benchmark accomplishments that liberates parents from baby jail and gives four-year-old kids something to crow about. This club is one that every kid wants to graduate into and it’s as simple as accepting the modern accessory of indoor plumbing. Kids will realize that urine and maple syrup smell the same, and that you don’t want to smell like either of them. That is one way to look at the book.

Jacques’ discovery allows his friends to shout about their own preferences. One of his friends likes to wear cowboy boots. Beau likes to wear bell-bottom jeans, but nobody, much to the surprise of Jacques, makes fun of him. All of the silly, worst-case scenarios that ran through his imagination fall flat. The line of people paying money for garbage to throw at him, as well as his fears of being exiled to a cold, foreign land don’t happen either.

Hedgehogs Don’t Wear Underwear thinks like a kid, but has the self-awareness that allows older readers to enjoy it too. It works as a young child’s book on accepting underwear. However, it’s so enjoyable that its silliness and raw fun allow it to function as entertainment. It’s just a giddy illustrated book that older elementary kids, who are far beyond the age of just accepting underwear, can laugh at it and replace ‘knitting’, ‘anime’, ‘chess’ or anything in the place of Jacques’ newly discovered fashion item.

The story and art are by Marissa Valdez and complement each other in the way that great illustrated books should. If the illustrations were more realistic, then they wouldn’t have the same energy. If Jacques were Italian, instead of French, it could still have the same punch, but making him French adds a certain j’ne sais quoi. It’s not just that he’s French, it’s that he is from France. Yeah, it’s a cartoon hedgehog, but you want to believe, non, you do believe that he’s from the outskirts of Monte Carlo and could somehow move next to you, manic energy and all.

Hedgehogs Don’t Wear Underwear is by Marissa Valdez and available on Roaring Press Books.

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