Why do hedgehogs feature so often in quiet books?

If you have an interest in quiet books, I'm sure you will have seen some of the many pages featuring hedgehogs.

In The Hoop With Lee sells this machine
embroidery design

I've been thinking about making a hedgehog page lately, but not because I like them. I don't!

I remember a post from a quiet book group on Facebook - Quiet Book hints, tips & ideas by one of the moderators, Cheri Chiles. She blogs over at Fabric and Memories and was wondering why hedgehogs always seem to get things stuck to them and if that was something that real hedgehogs got up to in their spare time. What is the point of doing that as a quiet book activity?! I totally hear you Cheri!! Hedgehogs in a quiet book - I'm just not a fan.

Ok... so why am I thinking of making a hedgehog page then? Good question. Someone I know keeps spoiling me and buying craft goodies online. And she adores hedgehogs. What better way to say thank you than create a quiet book featuring that somewhat-cute creature.

So what is the deal with hedgehogs and quiet books?

You Tube sensation Irina Sorokina of My Craft Quiet Books fame has the answer.  Both hedgehogs and quiet books abound in eastern Europe. Hedgehogs inhabit the forests and the fairy tales, and they are very popular with children. I'll leave a couple of folk tale examples below and then carry on with why they get to get stuff stuck to them.

Hungarian Folk Tales: The Hedgehog

Must Hedgehog Be Prickly? [1990]

Soviet cartoon with English subtitles

Irina also says that hedgehogs are predators and whilst they don't eat veggies, mushrooms or fruit, they do use them to repel insects. I found it a rather strange idea so I looked it up, and yes, it exists and is termed "self-anointing". The process often involves chewing things up with their saliva and coating themselves in the mix. It may also serve as a scent camouflage or type of chemical weapon! Ok, so maybe these pages are not so bad after all, but still, hedgehogs are just not part of my culture. I'd take a joey in a pouch over a bio-sludged hedgehog any day of the week.

If you think you might like to make your own hedgehog page, check out this helpful tutorial and free pattern from Irina below. Then you can self anoint the hedgehog to your heart's content.

My Craft - Quiet book tutorial:

"the hedgehog" page + template

Follow Faith and Felt Obsession on Facebook, Pinterest and You Tube

What do you think - do you love a good hedgehog quiet book page? Or are you with me?

The Evolution of Quiet Books

While it may at first appear that there is not a lot of readily available information about the history and development of quiet books, I have been able to find some quite interesting details regarding their evolution.

Firstly I would like to draw your attention to a very informative article The History of the Bendable, Durable, Chewable Board Book by Olivia Campbell on the LIT HUB website. She talks about the results of technology development and the financial access it brought to books and toys as well as a dramatic paradigm shift that occurred in relation to children and books in general. It is an interesting read.

Image Source

In 1902, Dean's Rag Books Company was formed, publishing the first printed cloth books. They had pinking sheared edges and were advertised as being indestructible. Unlike paper books, the pages could not be torn and/or eaten by children and they could be washed, sterilized, and slept with comfortably. The company went on to produce printed panels which could be sewn into a book by the purchaser. They extended this idea to their traditional book range and made cut out model books out of card which buyers could put together themselves. See The Brighton Toy and Model Index for more details on Dean's Rag Books Company or the book on it's history pictured above.

Dean's Rag Book Company was an offshoot of the Dean & Son book publishing company founded not long before 1800. The University Libraries website credits them with publishing the first movable books, including pop-up books, pull-tab books, and pantomime toy books. Dean's Rag Books Company does not seem to have incorporated these ideas into their cloth books.

Image Source

One of the earliest tactile books published may have been "Cottontails - A Tactile Book" dated to 1938, a copy of which is preserved in the Bennington Museum. As you can see, it features tied binding, beads, pom-poms, buttons, fabric, ribbon, a bell, and what appears to be felt.

Image Source

Image Source

Image Source

Image Source

Image Source

The earliest dated quiet book pattern I am aware of is by Ann F Pritt, copyrighted in 1967 to Deseret Book Company. She made a Mormon version because she noticed a lot of mothers bringing quiet books to church and wanted to promote a focus on scripture. You can download her pattern for free from The Idea Door website: How to Make an LDS Quiet Book by Ann F. Pritt

Image Source

Thanks to a lovely friend, I own a copy of  How to Sew A Quiet Book from Craft Course Publishers, copyright 1977. It is Craft Course SP-11 and says it was adapted from a book submission by Annelle Simmons. Many of the classic quiet book pages are included in her patterns and it is my guess that they were already established as classics before this publishing.

Image Source

In addition to the try my mitten and football lacing pages featured on the front cover, pages include pockets for a pad and pencil/crayons, flower buttoning, hair braiding, clothes on a washing line, a clock, a train, balloon colour matching, shape matching, 1-10 bead counting, bow tying on a kitten, a clown face to rearrange, and a zippered ladybug with babies.

Follow Faith and Felt Obsession on Facebook, Pinterest and You Tube

If you know of any earlier patterns or other information, I'd love to hear from you!