Hedgehogs Don’t Wear Underwear

Hedgehog Jacques girds his loins while preparing to make a big announcement: he loves to wear underwear. The spiny mammal anticipates ridicule and even exile (“Hedgehogs eat grubs. Hedgehogs make nests. Hedgehogs snort with their sniffly snouts. They don’t wear underwear!”). To his amazement, the declaration quickly gives way to similar reveals from other hedgehogs—fans of cowboy boots, feather boas, and more. French-inflected dialogue appears throughout Valdez’s sublimely silly solo debut (one hedgehog asks if underwear is “un chapeau pour your patootie”), and freewheeling gouache cartooning renders the characters as quirky parallelograms with pointy noses. Yet just beneath the giggle-inducing surface is an affirming invitation to bring one’s true self to whatever one does. Ages 3–6. (Apr.)