Separate from the game Bakers without Borders but related to it, we created a series of children’s books “The Adventures of HedgeHope, the hedgehog Baker without Borders”. These beautiful books are designed as unique art pieces, with hand-drawn illustrations and text by Dr. Nadezhda Savova-Grigorova, cultural anthropologist (Princeton University), who got inspired for the books by her various anthropological travels and research, for which she was awarded “Traveler with a Mission of the Year 2012” by the global National Geographic.

The books have a unique cultural anthropology approach for children, and are specially designed to develop empathy and respect and love for other cultures. As you follow HedgeHope’s travels across the globe, children and adults get inspired to “hop with hope over any hedge” of difficulty in life. You will learn many intriguing traditions, from music and dance to various crafts and foods, as you keep growing wiser and more open-minded and open-hearted.

The name “HedgeHope” (hopping with hope over any hedge/difficulty) could be translated in many other languages with different plays of words: in Bulgarian as “NadEzhko” meaning “to be above pricking others/above anger”; in German as “SchutzIgel” (resembling SchutzEngel, “angel protector”); in Italian as “SorRiccio” (sorriso – smile; riccio – hedgehog); in Portuguese as “SorOuriço” (sorriso – smile; ouriço – hedgehog); in Spanish as“SonEriso” (sonrisa – smile; eriso – hedgehog); in French as SourHérisson (sourire-smile; hérisson – hedgehog). If you find a creative, playful translation in your own language, we will be happy if you share it with us! You probably noted that there is also a connection between our hedgehog’s name NadEzhko and the author’s name, Nadezhda: it is a connection in sound but also in meaning, because Nadezhda means “hope” in Bulgarian, and often when Nadezhda travelled around the world, people enjoyed calling her with the local translation of her name: Esperanza (in Spain), Tesfanesh (in Ethiopia), Tikva (in Israel).

• Each book includes a recipe for a local bread or pastry, usually personally collected by Nadezhda during her own travels in these countries, and the whole family could then prepare it together at home, or children together with their teachers at a kindergarten or school
• Each book also has as an overarching theme inspiring children with a particular moral virtue, as it describes the life story of a local saint, a holy person, who lived these virtues in real life (presented in a format suitable for children of any cultural or religious background)
• These children’s books are a perfect complementary educational tool to the stories part of Game 3 in the game Bakers Without Borders. They all present different information about the diverse countries: in the game the children learn more about global social and economic issues, while in the illustrated books they learn more cultural and geographic information.
• Expect new books to keep coming out over the years, the same way Nadezhda will keep sharing online more stories for Game 3 of the game Bakers Without Borders.

Join HedgeHope, our soft-spined and soft-hearted Baker without Borders!