The Adventures of Hansi the Hedgehog

The Adventures of Hanis the Hedgehog is a nature book in two parts. Part 1 is the true story of Kristina and the newborn hedgehog she finds barely alive on a vineyard dirt road. She takes the baby hedgehog home and spends the next several months as its substitute mother. She names him Hansi and desperately works to help the abandoned baby survive. Over days and weeks, she faces a number of challenges in trying to help it learn to drink, walk, sleep and "poop" until he is strong enough to return into the wilderness. Part 2 continues the story of a fictional Hansi the Hedgehog, now grown up and living in the wilderness. From Hanis's point of view in his new home, in a beautiful meadow with a pond, readers follow his adventures out in the world as he learns to survive. Hansi builds a nest, hunts for food, and learns about the dangers that surround him. When fall and winter come, his instincts tell him how to store food in his body and build a more stable nest where he can hibernate. With the first rays of the sun in spring, Hansi emerges from hibernation. Soon he finds a hedgehog mate, and after about six weeks the pair welcomes two new baby hedgehogs - who look exactly like Hanis did when Kristina first found him on a vineyard dirt road.