Big Bear Hug

In this great little book, we meet a bear who loves to give hugs. It's his nature! He hugs animals of all sizes, but his favorite thing to hug are trees. When a man comes in to cut down one of his beloved trees, bear has a cathartic moment and realizes that even though he wants to eat the man, it's not in his nature, so he hugs him instead. Of course this causes the man to run away as fast as he can - problem solved. A simple little story about hugs. At first reading, I thought wow, the bear wants to eat the man? That's a little intense... As it turns out, it adds just the right bit of tension to an otherwise cuddly story. The illustrations are rather plain, but I think the author did a good job conveying the animals terrified expressions when the bear hugs them, and the bear is very relatable and not too scary. The green theme is obvious and not a bad little lesson, but it's the hugging theme that I liked the best. It worked well for small group sharing and the kids really enjoyed it when I asked them to find someone to give a "bear hug". My only wish for this book is that it had been bigger. The small size is great for lap sharing and for little hands but not great for groups. I want a bigger version! Still a big recommend.

nice holdable book for 3-4yr. olds. illustrations and story is very very simple and straightforward so if kids are looking for creativity it is not here.

Written and illustrated by Nicholas Oldland, "Big Bear Hug" is a joyous romp of a story about a bear who loves everything and everyone so much that he gives them all big bear hugs. he even hugs snakes! His favorite thing to hug is trees, all kinds. When he finds a lumberman starting to chop down the largest, most beautiful tree in the forest, he feels something very different from love for the man. Try as he might, he cannot bring himself to attack the man. Instead, he does what he does best: he HUGS him. So ends the fantastical tale of a bear who loves trees (and everyone). All the original colorful illustrations are artwork that was rendered in Photoshop. They are very effective in delivering the message between the lines of text, which is set in Animated Gothic. All in all, "Big Bear Hug" is a book sure to appeal to kids age 5 and up.

Kiwi Magazine Review: Huge hugging bear coming your way! The illustrations in this book are absolutely priceless; all sorts of animals find themselves wrapped in a huge hairy hug, whether they like it or not (their faces humorously tell of their displeasure). The kind bear just can't stop hugging. That it, until he meets up with an ax-wielding human. He is just about to eat him but decides to hug him instead. The human runs as fast as he can, and the bear gives the tree a giant hug. This is my new favorite children's book for its entertainment value, aesthetics and a bit of a green message.