The Perfect Hug

PreS-K–Like the penguin who searched for a kiss in Walsh’s The Biggest Kiss (S & S, 2011), a young panda also sets out on a journey to find an “exactly right” hug. With a deerstalker cap atop his head and a trusty magnifying glass in his hand, the youngster heads in the direction indicated by a bright “perfect hug” sign and encounters all kinds of animal huggers along the way. Some are too tall, some too short; some have lots of arms, and some, like the snails, none at all. The panda searches the ocean in diving gear, but the jellyfish have too many stingers for a comfortable embrace. Might outer space hold the answer? No, the perfect hug is much closer to home as young readers might easily guess before the final page turn. The brief rhyming text features “Fantastic hugs!,/Elastic hugs!, Gymnastic,/enthusiastic hugs!” while Abbot’s winsome animals appear on both white and colored grounds, engaged in hugs large and small. There are dinosaurs with necks entwined, gleeful monkeys hugging as they swing from trees, a wraparound boa constrictor hug, and even googly-eyed space creature hugs. This  charming story is a good choice for one-on-one sharing, and the satisfying conclusion, “If you hug me,/then I’ll hug you!” will likely encourage some cuddles as well.–Marianne Saccardi, formerly at Norwalk Community College, CT