Hugging Porcupines: Month-by-Month Strategies to Support Our Most Challenging Students

by Mike Anderson

Insightful strategies for reaching and teaching our "porcupines"—those students who struggle in school and challenge us most.

We've all known students who disrupt class, break the rules, and try our patience. Deep down, we know they’re the ones who actually need extra love and support instead of time-outs or trips to the principal’s office. In Hugging Porcupines, veteran educator Mike Anderson offers practical strategies for supporting these porcupines so they can be as successful as possible, both in school and beyond.

Anderson walks readers month-by-month through the school year, sharing strategies for setting up routines at the start of school, getting back on track after holiday breaks, and finishing strong. He addresses how to



Develop relationships slowly early on, strengthen them throughout the year, and bring them to a positive conclusion in the spring.Maintain, and even build, relationships through effective discipline.Connect with porcupines' families.Foster porcupines' interpersonal skills.Facilitate effective problem-solving conferences.Support new students when they arrive mid-year.Support students' transition to the next year.

Hugging Porcupines will deepen K–12 teachers' understanding of why porcupines struggle academically and behaviorally in school and equip them to provide more appropriate support.

356 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 18, 2026

Reviews

[Shauna Bostick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great resource for new teachers or those looking for a refresher on classroom management. This author sheds light on the dos and don'ts of building relationships with challenging students and offers insights into why these students are struggling to begin with. He also brings out how our actions as adults actually contribute to the problem instead of making it better.

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A worthwhile book to read to remind educators about the challenging students in our classes-- I've been interested in reading this one and finally got my hands on it. It creates a foundation of who the porcupines are and then goes through the school calendar to figure out strategies for supporting them. Like many education-specific books it's more focused on the elementary world with some strategies for the older crowd. There are takeaways and I had specifically set this book aside to read right before going back to school. Took some notes and it had a few good reminders because a few things I say and do were reflected back at me that I can work on as an educator.

[Lisa Wells · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mike is an experienced teacher and coach who has a remarkable ability to distill complex information into bite size chunks for busy teachers. This relatively short book gives practical and science based strategies for connecting with all students, especially the prickly ones!

[Caitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really helpful book for all teachers. Veteran teachers will find great reminders and strategies to encourage them. New teachers will find great information and strategies to help them have a successful year.

[Carlos · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the first section of this book and would recommend reading at least that to any of my teacher friends.

[Sammy Kominiarek · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐ Solid book with so many concrete strategies. Written with compassion, and still so practical. Will be referring back to this throughout the school year!