The Adventures of Prickly Porky

The Adventures of Prickly Porky is the thirteenth book in Thornton W. Burgess' Bedtime Story Book series.

Prickly Porky has moved to a hill in the Green Forest from the North Woods. He quickly makes friends with many of the animals that live there or in the Green Meadows. It doesn't hurt that his quills cause Bowser the Hound to run away.

In this book Peter Rabbit (not the Beatrix Potter character), Reddy Fox, old Granny Fox, and Old Man Coyote are all frightened by a terrible sight. Readers are let in on the secret early and get to enjoy the others' fright.

Peter Rabbit gets an even bigger fright when he is finally caught by Old Granny Fox, who has been trying for years. (Well, Mrs. Peter has been warning him not to take so many foolish show more chances.) At least his peril allows Peter to find out who his real friends are.

Unc' Billy Possum moved to the Green Forest from Virginia, so his dialect is southern. 'Brer' means 'Brother' and he says 'Ah' when he means 'I'.

I enjoyed the animal characters and Harrison Cady's illustrations of them. Some useful lessons for children (and adults) are gently taught. This book originally came out in 1916, but should still be enjoyed by today's children. show less

There's a big mystery brewing among the animals of the Green Forest -- and it's all because of a strange little creature with no head, legs, or tail that came rolling down a hill and gave Peter Cottontail the fright of his life. What could it be?

Learn how Prickly Porky made friends, what made Old Granny Fox lose her dignity, why Old Man Coyote lost his appetite, and more.

Written by master storyteller Thornton W. Burgess, this classic combines all the fun of a good story with gentle lessons about wildlife, the environment, and human virtues.

This story isn't so much about a character himself as the confusion he causes in others. The porcupine is a newcomer to the forest and the other animals are impressed with his size, long teeth, and sharp quills so they keep their distance. Soon stories begin to spread about a strange, frightening creature seen at daybreak on the hill where Prickly Porky lives. It is an animal said to have no legs, head or tail, yet chases others with alarming speed. Peter Rabbit is terrified of it, even Reddy Fox and his wise Granny run away from it. Of course eventually someone figures out the mysterious creature's identity and then as each character learns what is going on they trick others into coming by when the strange beast appears so they can see show more them get frightened out of their wits. The last one to be fooled is Old Man Coyote, very put out indeed!

This is the first time I've read a Thornton Burgess book and wondered at the accuracy of the animal behavior it depicts (aside from the animals talking and holding parties for their friends, of course). I know that porcupines eat bark, climb trees, grunt to themselves, sleep in piles of dry leaves. But has one ever really curled himself up and rolled downhill? It sounds like a myth to me.

from the Dogear Diary show less

There's a big mystery brewing among the animals of the Green Forest--and it's all because of a strange little creature with no head, legs, or tail that came rolling down a hill and gave Peter Cottontail the fright of his life. What could it be?

Young children's chapter book. There really is only one story; each chapter is just a different scene, and each chapter offers a lesson in proper behavior. It's one of those books that enjoyed as a child, but as an adult I found that my memory of the book was much more satisfying than the actual story. Perhaps best approached by adults from a culture-history-in-lit perspective.