Hedgehog has finished building a cozy nest for winter. Unfortunately, a ripe apple falls from the tree above and gets stuck in her spines, making it impossible for her to fit in her new digs. She has several friends to whom she can go for advice, but their instructions simply make her situation worse. She ends up with other bits and pieces stuck to her body in addition to the apple — including nuts, a pear, a dried leaf, and some berries. Then she meets another animal that is able to ease her situation by eating everything stuck to her. Bright spreads reveal the harried hedgehog and her helpers. Blooming flowers and the summer green of the trees belie the fact that it’s time to hibernate, but kids won’t mind this anomaly.
This classic apple-themed book can be used in speech therapy to target predicting. This book is also great for discussing attempts to solve a problem and describing! Discover more of the speech and language teaching concepts for using Apple Trouble! in speech therapy below:
Frequent Speech Sounds:
/h/ initial
/j/ medial (Hedgehog)
/g/ final
/sp/ initial (spiney, spine)
/skw/ initial
/p/ initial and medial
/er/ medial
/l/ final
Themes:
apples
Book Details:
Apple Trouble! (Ouch!)
Key Teaching Concepts
complete episode
vocabulary
problem solving
sequencing
character analysis
social/emotional concepts
predicting
adjectives
verbs (regular past tense)
verbs (irregular past tense)
verbs (linguistic)
prepositional phrases
order of animals that tried to help Hedgehog
order of items stuck to Hedgehog
hibernation, scurry, struggled, heaved, squeaked, wailed, wriggled, hopeful, pattered, gazed, reflection, sniffed, heaved
Hedgehog really wants to hibernate, but she doesn’t fit in her nest because of all the items stuck on her spines. She searches for different ways to remove all of the items. When the items are finally removed, she races happily to her nest to go to sleep.
How was Hedgehog feeling?
What words told you she was worried?
Why is she worried?
Why were they laughing at Hedgehog?
How did Hedgehog feel about this?
How does Goat feel about Hedgehog coming over?
How does Hedgehog feel when Goat eats all of the items?
The feeling of discouragement, being worried, hope, and relief.
simile (as light as a feather)
adjectives
verbs (regular past tense)
verbs (irregular past tense)
verbs (linguistic)
prepositional phrases
dialogue
How did Hedgehog feel when the apple plopped on her back?
What is Squirrel thinking when he is trying to get the apple off?
What is Hedgehog thinking when Squirrel is trying to get the apple off?
How do Squirrel and Hedgehog feel when Pig approaches them?
Why do you think Hedgehog is so worried about getting the items off of her back?
Why did Pig tell her to roll on her back?
Why did she cry “Oh no!”?
How does Hedgehog feel now?
Why did Hedgehog sniff at Frog?
Why is Hedgehog so worried?
What do you think Hedgehog should do to get the apple off of her back?
What do you think Squirrel could do to help her?
What do you think Pig will tell Hedgehog to do?
What do you think will happen when Hedgehog rolls on her back?
What do you think will happen with the paper?
What animal do you think will help her next?
What do you think Frog will tell her to do?
Do you think diving will work? Why or why not?
What do you think will get stuck to her in the water?
What do you think Pig’s idea will be?
What do you think will get stuck on Hedgehog from the bushes?
What animal will try to help her next?
Where do you think Hedgehog is going?
Hedgehog needs to fit into her nest but keeps getting items stuck to her back every time her friends try to help.
If you are interested in using Apple Trouble! and other fall-themed books in speech therapy, then check out these print-&-go cheat sheets. Perfect for when you don’t need a full book companion.
If you are interested in seeing other apples books to use in therapy, then check out the Themed Key Teaching Points Book List for a printable copy.