Phillip Hoose and his daughter Hanna co-authored a funny story, in rhyme, of an ant and a boy having a conversation. Hey, Little Ant was originally written as a song by father and daughter, lyrics and music are in the back of the book. The large , bright illustrations by Debbie Tilley reveal the drama of the interaction between ant and boy, and emphasize the disparity in their sizes. The boy wants to “squish” the ant. Ant pleads “you are much like me”, and explains that he has a family and a community that depend on him. The rhyming argument continues:

Kid: “But my Mom says that ants are rude, they carry off our picnic food!”

Ant: “One little chip can feed my town, So please don’t make your shoe come down.”

The boy replies “anyone knows that ants can’t feel… all my friends squish ants… I should squish you.”

The next-to-last double page spread of a large ant and a tiny boy, ends:

Ant: “If you were me and I were you, What would you want me to do?”

The story ends with a one and a half page spread of a white soled black sneaker hovering over the ant, who is carrying suitcases. The last words of the story: “What do you think that kid should do?”

This question begs for a response. With young children I have acted out the story using crayons or colored paper. In my yoga classes for grades 1-3, we have made up stories about what an ant’s life might be like. We created partner poses called “ant hill” and “feed the ants”, and talked about peer pressure.  Hey,Little Ant teaches us that all living things should be valued, no matter how big or how small.  Lessons learned from Hey, Little Ant:  about Bullying, Peer Pressure, Empathy, and Respect for all living things and their right to live.