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TOO MANY HUGS

Name: TOO MANY HUGS
Author: Yvonne Pearson
ISBN: 9781638191483

A BOOK ABOUT CONSENT

by Yvonne Pearson ; illustrated by Maria Burobkina ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 9, 2023

A story with a crucial message hampered somewhat by garish art.

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When he feels overhugged, Theo takes action.

Theo loves Dad’s morning hug: “His dad’s hugs were warm, and he smelled like buttered toast.” But a host of unwanted hugs follows: the brown-skinned neighbor Jose’s sticky hug; a hug from Jose’s dog, Spot, which knocks Theo over; a painful hug from Theo’s cat; and too-tight hugs from a light-skinned neighbor and Grandma. When Theo finally seeks refuge in his room, he almost overhugs his teddy bear but stops, realizing that maybe his toy doesn’t want a hug either. Inspired, he drafts rules (shown in a childlike scrawl with poor spelling) that he hangs on the refrigerator door—immediately garnering better results in his hug-life. The important message about bodily autonomy is clearly stated and further articulated for parents in the backmatter. However, the cartoonish, chaotic artwork is off-putting, and the pace feels a bit frantic. Still, given that all children should learn to ask before giving a hug and to expect the same from others, it’s one that many little ones will benefit from reading. Theo and his family have light tan skin. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A story with a crucial message hampered somewhat by garish art. (tips for children) (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: May 9, 2023

ISBN: 9781638191483

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Bushel & Peck Books

Review Posted Online: Jan. 24, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE LOON FINDS HIS VOICE
by Yvonne Pearson ; illustrated by Regina Shklovsky

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: June 21, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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TINY T. REX AND THE IMPOSSIBLE HUG

by Jonathan Stutzman ; illustrated by Jay Fleck ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 5, 2019

Wins for compassion and for the refusal to let physical limitations hold one back.

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With such short arms, how can Tiny T. Rex give a sad friend a hug?

Fleck goes for cute in the simple, minimally detailed illustrations, drawing the diminutive theropod with a chubby turquoise body and little nubs for limbs under a massive, squared-off head. Impelled by the sight of stegosaurian buddy Pointy looking glum, little Tiny sets out to attempt the seemingly impossible, a comforting hug. Having made the rounds seeking advice—the dino’s pea-green dad recommends math; purple, New Age aunt offers cucumber juice (“That is disgusting”); red mom tells him that it’s OK not to be able to hug (“You are tiny, but your heart is big!”), and blue and yellow older sibs suggest practice—Tiny takes up the last as the most immediately useful notion. Unfortunately, the “tree” the little reptile tries to hug turns out to be a pterodactyl’s leg. “Now I am falling,” Tiny notes in the consistently self-referential narrative. “I should not have let go.” Fortunately, Tiny lands on Pointy’s head, and the proclamation that though Rexes’ hugs may be tiny, “I will do my very best because you are my very best friend” proves just the mood-lightening ticket. “Thank you, Tiny. That was the biggest hug ever.” Young audiences always find the “clueless grown-ups” trope a knee-slapper, the overall tone never turns preachy, and Tiny’s instinctive kindness definitely puts him at (gentle) odds with the dinky dino star of Bob Shea’s Dinosaur Vs. series.

Wins for compassion and for the refusal to let physical limitations hold one back. (Picture book. 5-7)