After 20 years in print and online, our dear Ant has moved to a new anthill.
NEW WEBSITE
Please follow Ant’s adventures at www.HeyLittleAnt.com.
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HI, KOO! Illustration © Jon J. Muth
Recently, I was shown this page from Hi, Koo!: A Year of Seasons by Jon J. Muth (Scholastic Press). The image and haiku are very sweet, and true. I remember that feeling when I killed bugs, accidentally mainly, as a kid. Those very same feelings led my daughter Hannah Hoose and I to write our picture book, Hey, Little Ant.
It also reminds me of what Richard Gere said when asked how to raise a Buddha baby.
“‘Teach them to respect insects.’ That is what the the Dalai Lama said. If they can learn to love something that to them is innately ugly and small, learn that an insect has the same life forece as they, that’s the beginning. And basically, you have to watch yourself. If you want your child to be special, you have to be special: generous, kind, loving, forgiving.” —Richard Gere
Jon J. Muth’s character Koo embodies the Dalai Lama’s message. May young readers listen. —Phillip Hoose
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“…if the tables were turned, you wouldn’t want to be squished by a giant, would you? So why should humans be mean to animals smaller than us?” —VegBooks Reader
VegBooks names Hey, Little Ant “Best Books for 5-Year-Old Vegan & Vegetarian Kids.”
“It can create a lot of dialogue focused around compassion.” —VegBooks Reader
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Look! Hey Little Ant popped up in a Little Free Library the other day.
HEY LITTLE ANT in a Little Free Library
The Little Free Library movement started in Wisconsin and has spread all over the world. It’s a “take a book, return a book” gathering place where neighbors share their favorite literature and stories. In its most basic form, a Little Free Library is a box full of books where anyone may stop by and pick up a book (or two) and bring back another book to share.
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Author Mary Pipher
Phillip and Hannah Hoose’s picture book, Hey, Little Ant is included in Mary Pipher’s forthcoming book, The Green Boat: Reviving Ourselves in Our Capsized Culture, her look at the psychological and cultural factors that keep us from facing our enormous global perils, mainly global climate change.
“This delightful book has the staying power of an Aesop fable. Children and adults love this story which helps develop the moral imagination and teaches an appreciation of point of view. If our world changes for the better, it will be because of books like Hey, Little Ant.” –Mary Pipher
Mary, thank you for all you do to make this a better planet.
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Thank you to Flashlight Press for telling us about the appearance of Hey, Little Ant in an Israeli children’s wildlife magazine called Iton Chai.
“Hey Nemala! is a funny, book that provokes thought through an entertaining discussion between two creatures, large and small. The book encourages children to formulate opinions about animals, peer pressure, and ways to deal with violence. What does the boy decide? To find out, you’ll have to read the book. Amazing illustrations by Debbie Tilley emphasize the conflict between large and small.”
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Thanks to Ada Moreau Demlow of The Librarian Life for featuring Hey, Little Ant as “a great tool to kick off conversations about bullying, animal rights, use and abuse of power, and other related issues.” Here’s to the librarians’ life of connecting kids and books!
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If all the world thought as deeply about sharing as Mrs. Nichol’s class did, the planet would be a more equitable place. Listen to the other advise they composed together after reading Hey, Little Ant:
-At a play date, let the brother or sister play too.
-In Library, if two people want the same book be kind and let the other person have it.
-At home when you are watching T.V., look for a show that everyone will like.
-At hockey, if you want to be goalie let your friend go first.
The Ant is quite pleased that you would let him be hockey goalie first, put he is a little worried about the size of that puck. Speaking of squishing…
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Hey, Little Ant began as a song written by Phillip and Hannah Hoose in 1992 and has been sung by various performers all over the world.
As a thank you to all the educators and readers that have sung along, the original recording featuring Phillip and Hannah Hoose is now available as a free MP3 download!
Right click your mouse here and select “Save Link As” to capture the MP3.
(Kid:) Hey, little ant, down in that crack
Can you see me? Can you talk back?
See my shoe, can you see that?
Well, now it’s gonna squish you flat!
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Bryce Vickmark for The New York Times
There was a wonderful piece in the New York Times on Prof. Thomas E. Wartenberg teaching of philosophy to children through children’s books. You can read the full article, “Examined Life, Age 8” here.
“The world is a puzzling place and when you’re young it doesn’t make sense,” Professor Wartenberg says. “What you’re giving them is the sort of skills to learn how to think about these things.”
We thank Prof. Thomas E. Wartenberg for using Hey, Little Ant in his fine curriculum alongside such great books as The Giving Tree, Morris the Moose, and Frog and Toad Together.
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Hey, Little Ant 