Hedgie's Surprise
Henny doesn't know what to do. Every morning the irksome gnomelike  Tomten steals her egg and takes it home to cook in his kettle and gobble up for  breakfast. But when she sees Goosey-Goosey sailing by with a gaggle of goslings,  Henny is suddenly galvanized to dosomething. Will she never have chicks  of her own? She consults her wise friend Hedgie the Hedgehog, who comes up with  a clever plan guaranteed to give the Tomten a sharp lesson in appropriate  behavior.Jan Brett's trademark illustrations--detailed watercolors bordered by intricate  needlepoint patterns---capture the charm and mischief of this Scandinavian-style  folk tale set in Denmark. Each wide woven margin shows a hint in miniature of  upcoming events: Hedgie crawling under Henny's brooding basket, or the enraged  Tomten after being outwitted. Young readers will love guessing what Hedgie has  up his proverbial sleeve, and will rejoice with Henny at the unusual hatching of  her first brood of chicks. A warm, humorous, 100 percent satisfying story by the  creator of many picture book favorites, such asThe HatandThe Mitten. (Ages 3 to 7)--Emilie Coulter