Young Bobo the chimp is wandering through the jungle, admiring the various ways that his animal friends and their parents give each other hugs. At first, he happily calls out, "Hug!," but it doesn't take long for Bobo to long for a hug of his own. A pair of elephants set out to help him find his mommy, and along the way, we see even more cute creature parents and their young embracing each other. Just when Bobo thinks all hope is lost, his Mommy calls out, "Bobo!", and all is right with his world. Alborough's illustrations are wonderfully expressive, and I love the way the changing emotions of the story can be expressed with the same word. We have yet to read this book fewer than three times in a sitting, and my 3 year old daughter loves that she can read it herself. (She even changes her voice accordingly to reflect the joy or sadness of little Bobo's refrain. It's adorable.) It's also a story to which all children can easily relate, for sometimes we all just need a hug.
We found this story in a large board book format, though I think it comes in a smaller board book format, too. Published by Candlewick Press (one of my favorite publishers), Hug has won an Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Best Book Award, as well as a Parenting Reading Magic Award. I wish we had discovered this book when my kids were babies, since I know it would have been one of their favorites all along. I'd recommend this story for newborns on up, especially when accompanied by a big, loving hug.
1 comments:
Hug is one of my favorites! I discovered it at a friend's house long before my daughter was even born, and was thrilled to eventually add it to her reading collection.
Post a Comment