Group Hug
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
There once was a slug, / needing someone to hug.
When Slug happens upon a lonely beetle, he knows just what to do. He gives him a big hug—and then the two friends decide to pass it along. They meet Mouse, who's down in the dumps, Skunk, who's a bit smelly, and more and more animals, until their group hug stretches wide and tall. But when Bear comes along, will there be enough hug to share? This delightful picture book encourages kindness and goes to show "that a hugger finds happiness 'longside the hugged!"
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A yellow and orange slug in need of a hug finds a lonely beetle who could also benefit from the shoring up that can accompany physical contact. Their embrace sets off a growing collective clutch of woodland critters, all having a bad day for one reason or another ("A groundhog, forgotten./ A goose, out of luck.// A fox nicknamed ‘Sneaky.'/ A moose, feeling stuck") and each welcomed into the literal fold with the refrain, "GROUP HUG!" A bear "needing someone to care" momentarily tests the group's resolve, but when the slug bravely proffers a hug, the others return from their respective hiding places to join the huddle once again. The economic text has a surfeit of aural pleasures, and Reidy (Truman) strikes a comic tone that never sinks into sentimentality: an overworked beaver is beckoned with "Come join our crew./ Let the hugging ensue!" Digital art by Chou (Ways to Welcome) combines strong lines and shapes with intricate, expertly balanced overlays of color and texture. Together, text and art radiate a sense of unalloyed communal joy. Ages 4–8. Author's agent: Erin Murphy, Erin Murphy Literary. Illustrator's agent: Kirsten Hall, Catbird Productions.
