The Perfect Hug by Joanna Walsh and Judi Abbot

The Perfect Hug by Joanna Walsh and Judi Abbot
Buy The Perfect Hug by Joanna Walsh and Judi Abbot at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: For Sharing
Reviewer: Zoe Morris
Summary: Panda is looking for not just any hug, but the perfect hug in this cute book for reading together.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 20	Date: January 2014
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Books
ISBN: 978-1471120053
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Who doesn’t like a nice hug? Hugs and cuddles are something you know from birth are nice, and unlike with kisses you don’t have to worry about Aunty Florence’s smelly breath or wet slobbering. In this book, our unnamed, panda-shaped hero is out to find the perfect hug. Along the way he tries big hugs and small hugs and prickly hugs and tickly hugs, but none are quite right. Can he find the one he’s looking for? Is there a secret to the perfect hug?

This edition is a tactile board book with a squishy cover (squishy like a hug) but the text is slightly older than you would traditionally find in this format: I’ve not seen board books use the phrase ‘be wary’ or talk about ‘stingers’ (in relation to Jellyfish tentacles) before. There’s a story to it too, a story of adventure and exploring, from the depths of the ocean to the edge of the Milky Way, all in pursuit of the perfect hug.

I always read these books aloud, even if I don’t have a child immediately handy, and this one wasn’t as flowy as some: it switches from rhyming to plain text, and short to long phrases quite a bit, and the result is a bit clunky if you try to read it through, without stopping to examine or discuss the pictures (or have a hug) with every page turn.

This is a fun, silly book and the illustrations complement is well, lots of thick lines and bold colours, nothing too fancy and intricate. The cover boasts of hugs on every page, and I think it would be hard to read this book together and not have hug after hug as you turn the pages, which I think is just a lovely idea, albeit not an especially original one. Well aimed at pre-schoolers, this book turns story time into hug time. Who could object to that?

Thanks go to the publishers for supplying this book.

Hugs are big business in the kiddie market. Hugless Douglas Finds A Hug by David Melling and One More Hug For Nutmeg by Caroline Jayne Church are both recommended, while Upside Down Babies by Jeanne Willis and Adrian Reynolds is my favourite snuggle up book from last year.

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You can read more book reviews or buy The Perfect Hug by Joanna Walsh and Judi Abbot at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy The Perfect Hug by Joanna Walsh and Judi Abbot at Amazon.com.

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