Hey, Little Ant Reading Guide & Activities | Ages 12 Months–8 Years

Turn storytime into an opportunity to read together, create together, and grow together with this printable companion guide for Hey, Little Ant, written by Phillip and Hannah Hoose and illustrated by Debbie Tilley. 

Designed for children ages 12 months through 8 years, this guide helps you explore the story at your child’s developmental level—without turning reading time into a lesson or quiz. Start by simply enjoying the book together. Then, return to the story whenever you are ready to explore the Kid and Ant’s very different perspectives, think about kindness and empathy, consider the choices each character faces, and decide together what should happen at the story’s unresolved ending.

Inside this 18-page guide, you’ll find:

• During Reading Tips to bring the Kid and Ant’s conversation to life, emphasize their dramatic size difference, and make the story’s open-ended conclusion even more engaging
• Age-appropriate After Reading Questions for: 12-18 months, 18-24 months, Ages 2-4, Ages 5-8
• Guidance showing where to ask each question, which skill it supports, and how it helps your child learn
• Bonus Family Conversation Questions for ages 2–4 and 5–8 to keep meaningful conversations going beyond the book
• A complete materials list and step-by-step directions for a craft
• Opportunities to build vocabulary, picture awareness, comparison skills, story comprehension, inference, cause-and-effect thinking, empathy, perspective-taking, critical thinking, decision-making, and real-world connections

About the activity

The activity gives children plenty of opportunities to tear, paint, glue, create, and imagine while building fine-motor skills and encouraging conversations about how ants live underground.

The goal is not a picture-perfect ant habitat. It is the creating, talking, imagining, and time spent making something together.

This guide is a good fit for families who want to:

• Make a thought-provoking story more interactive for younger and older children
• Help children recognize that two people—or characters—can experience the same situation very differently
• Explore kindness, empathy, fairness, and perspective-taking naturally through a story
• Encourage children to explain their thinking and support their opinions with reasons
• Talk about peer pressure and making your own choices with older children
• Practice big/little concepts, picture clues, movement, and emotional expressions with toddlers
• Use the story’s open ending to encourage prediction, critical thinking, and family conversation
• Extend the book with a creative ant habitat children can personalize and imagine stories around

Please note

This is a digital PDF download. No physical book, printed guide, or craft supplies will be mailed.

You will need access to a copy of Hey, Little Ant by Phillip and Hannah Hoose to use the reading portions of this guide.

The book may be borrowed from your local library or purchased separately.

Adult supervision is recommended during the craft, especially when using paint, glue, and other art materials.

Recommended ages: 12 months–8 years

Format: Printable digital PDF

Length: 18 pages

Included activity: 1 craft + bonus family conversation questions