CM Magazine:The Hug.

________________ CM . . . . Volume XIX Number 6 . . . . October 12, 2012

cover
The Hug.

Lesley Simpson. Illustrated by Yayo.
Toronto, ON: Annick Press, 2010.
20 pp., board, $6.95.
ISBN 978-1-55451-252-2.

Preschool / Birth-age 2.

Review by Karen Higginbottom.

** /4

excerpt:

I tried to be a soother . . .
But I did not like the slobber.
I tried to be a tire swing . . .
But swinging made me dizzy.

The Hug is a chunky board book that is made small for small hands. I read it many times to my children before I noticed that there is text on the cover page. The text that I missed was, “I have a secret.” I wish that this text was on the first page of the book and not hidden on the opening cover page. The story is about a hug who didn’t want to be a hug any longer, and so it tried to be many different circular objects, such as a soother, a toilet seat and a swing. When the hug saw his friend was sad, he gave him a hug, but he was out of practice, and so he went back and hugged everything he had tried to be. The hug discovered he was very important as a hug. The message of the book is a good one – be happy with who you are because you are important. But the words that were used I feel are not appropriate for this age group (toilet seats and onions rings). The words are black on a white page. The illustrations are small and dull. Young children enjoy looking at bright, vivid pictures.

Recommended with reservations.

Karen Higginbottom is a mother to two young girls and an ECE teacher in Guelph, ON.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

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Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364 Hosted by the University of Manitoba.

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