Although I'm sure this book will have plenty of admirers and I appreciate the author's emphasis that all creatures around the world hug, the text is too simple and repetitive for my tastes. It's good to be reminded that hugs can be given inside and outside, upstairs or downstairs, but there just wasn't anything in particular that made this one stand out for me. Even the collage illustrations seemed a bit drab and lacking in interest for me. While all the animals that have been featured throughout the book show up together on the last two pages, they are too small on those pages to catch the eye. Fans of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie are likely to like this one too although it doesn't stand up to that one's long-lived appeal. Ok, I realize this is a book that's meant to reassure children and they're likely to experience it from the arms or lap of a loved/loving caregiver - WARM FUZZIES. But really? Not all of these animals/creatures/things hug. If you find spiders hugging, chances are one is about to bite the head off the other (probably not the message you want to send). And penguins don't really hug so much as they huddle...together for warmth. This just seems thrown together. The illustrations, the wording, the choices of creatures for inclusion all seem to indicate that it was rushed and not at all well thought out. I do like the picture of the octopus hugging its offspring (or, possibly, squeezing the life out of them) splashed across the title page. Boa constrictors like to "hug," too. Maybe for the next book? This could, after all, be a disturbing new series.
What do You think about Big Hugs, Little Hugs (2012)?
Super cute book! I am going to use this book for my toddler time around Valentine's Day.
—sam
Cute, simple book about hugs...with bright, colorful, sweet illustrations...
—AmandaSchultz
Short and sweet. One to four words/page. Super cute pictures.
—wanjing83
