Porcupine’s Pie
Author: Laura Renauld
Illustrator: Jennie Poh
Beaming Books
9 October 2018
32 pages
Three things to note about Porcupine’s Pie:
- This book won the 2017 Beaming Books picture book writing contest.
- Laura Renauld has been participating in Tara Lazar’s PiBoIdMo/Storystorm event since 2011. (Read the OPB interview with Tara Lazar here!)
- Porcupines are awesome.
Want to know a bit about the story itself? Porcupine can’t wait to share Fall Feast with her woodland friends, so when everyone she greets is unable to bake their specialty due to a missing ingredient, Porcupine generously offers staples from her pantry. When Porcupine discovers that she, too, is missing a key ingredient, the friends all work together to create a new Fall Feast tradition.
Need some reviews of Porcupine’s Pie?
And enjoy an interview with author Laura Renauld on this book at the Beaming Books blog.
Educational Activities inspired by Laura Renauld’s Porcupine’s Pie:
- Before Reading–Ask students:
- “What do you already know about porcupines?”
- “What characters do you think will appear in this story?”
- “What type of pie do you think Porcupine is making?”
- After Reading–Each of Porcupine’s animal friends has made special Fall Feast food in the past. Which of those sounds most delicious to you–Squirrel’s Famous Nut Bread, Bear’s Famous Honey Cake, or Doe’s Famous Apple Tart?
- After Reading–If Porcupine met one more animal on her journey (besides Squirrel, Bear, and Doe), what animal would that be? What would that animal’s special Fall Feast dish be?
- Science–While a porcupine and a hedgehog seem like the same animal, they’re actually quite different. Find out more about some of those differences here:
- Cooking–With an adult’s help, make your own Friendship Pie! (The recipe is at the back of the book.) Or try these other yummy-sounding pie recipes:
- Craft–With an adult’s help, try out some of the following porcupine crafts:
- Further Reading–Despite having a prickly body, porcupine are actually little bundles of love. Read some of the following picture books about porcupines and answer the following: (Click on the book cover for more information on any of these titles!)
- Which of these porcupines has the prickliest personality?
- Which of these porcupines likely has the best stuffed animal friend?
- Which porcupine would you invite to your birthday party?
