Kirkus Starred Review!

This volume in the Simply Small board-book series introduces Emma, a little hedgehog with a heart of gold.

Emma and her three sisters exhaust themselves trudging along after Daddy up a steep hill. Inspired by the sweet scent in the air, Emma picks flowers and hands one to each of her three wilting sisters. They each give her a kiss in return, as does her proud father, and that makes: “Three flowers, / four kisses, and / five hedgehogs / —happy at home.” This final spread shows the five critters resting all cuddled together in a contented clump, with Emma’s sisters still holding onto their precious flowers. The simple, uncluttered illustrations complement the sparse but apt text. The only things pictured are the hedgehogs, the hill and the flowers, all of which are drawn with very thick, bold outlines. The sky is rendered a soft pink, the hill a light green and the hedgehogs shades of tan, with the blue, white and yellow flowers adding a bit of variety to the palette.

This sweet and simple offering is ideal for sharing one-on-one or for featuring with a small audience in a program celebrating family or, even better, small acts of kindness and love.

Saffy chosen as the Canadian Toy Testing Council Top 10 Great Books for Children 2010. Perry chosen as the Canadian Toy Testing Council Top 10 Great Books for Children 2011.

Praise for Saffy, first book in the Simply Small series:
Chosen as a top pick by Canadian Children's Centre, Best Books for Kids and Teens, 2009 Chosen as the Resource Links - Year's Best 2008
"An ambitious giraffe wants to do everything grownups do, but she's too small to reach a leaf on even the lowest branch, and too stubborn to let her mom do it for her." - Canadian Family, Review of Saffy

Praise for Perry:
"Perry the baby polar bear swims his first stroke towards independence, and finds his way back to mommy again. The satisfying story manages to have a beginning, middle and end with just five or fewer words per page." - Canadian Family
Family Tested: We love the drawings and it was nice that there was a point to the story. Lola repeats the words to herself. I'll buy the rest of the series."-- Allison Whately-Doucet, Mom of Lola, 2, Moncton, N.B., from Canadian Family

Praise for Totty:
- Best books for Kids & Teens 2010 Chosen Title, CCBC
- "A newly hatched sea turtle, a baby giraffe anxious for independence and a little elephant who wants more than anything to help his mother ... These are the endearing characters in Simply Read Books' board book series, Simply Small, by Paola Opal." Review, Canadian Children's Book News, 2010
- "The simple illustrations in this sweet book will charm little ones and keep them returning to its pages again and again. - Children's Book Corner
- "Opal uses repetitive language as well as familiar, expected patterns that help young children feel comfortable with the content and excited about the unfamiliar and unexpected." - Resource Links
- "A charming tale that's just perfect for the youngest readers" - ABC Best Books for Children