Hug

I bought this book and read it to my son as a bedtime story. My son is 3 years 1 month old and was diagnosed with apraxia (he can not tell his mouth to make the words he wants to say). He has a very limited speaking vocabulary (10 words) and is unable to say most letters or words correctly. In addition, he has been diagnosed as MIMH.. On Thursday night, voluntarily without my asking him to, he read the book with me. Each time I said a word, he would say it too. "Hug" occurs many times and "Mommy" and "Bobo" each twice. He was reading and voluntarily speaking! The next morning he read the book to my mom without me saying the words first! Not every book can meet the needs of special needs children, but this one can and does. Buy it! and you will see many rewards with your child. Another good book is Goodnight Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann. Plus as an adult you'll enjoy both of these books too!

Little Chimp travels through the jungle, and sees all his baby animal friends from elephants, lions, and hippos, to chameleons, giraffes, and even snakes, happily cuddling and hugging their mommies. HUG he repeats, over and over as he watches his friends. Pretty soon it's obvious that Little Chimp needs a big hug from his mommy, too, but she's nowhere to be found. Just as he sits down and begins to cry, we see Mommy Chimp running toward her baby, smiling, arms outstretched, ready to love, hug, and comfort him..... HUG is a clever, simple, and gentle picture book told through Jez Alborough's marvelously expressive and detailed illustrations. Little ones will easily be able to understand the story, and enjoy identifying all the jungle animals as they hug each other and try to help Little Chimp. With its happily-ever-after ending to reassure and comfort children as young as one, HUG is a lovely addition to your youngster's first bookshelf, and a sweet, feel-good story that shouldn't be missed.

As an educator I could launch into the value this book has in building emergent literacy, because the words are simple and sparse, and the illustrations are big and beautiful. Everything I could say about these things would be accurate and would make this book a great choice for your personal collection at home. However, that would overlook the more important truth, which is that everyone I show this book to just falls in love with it. From the tiniest children to the most esteemed elders, everyone is simply enchanted. There is something so universal about the situation of wanting to be close to our most loved ones that is so tenderly captured in these remarkably intuitive scenes. The fact that readers have the ability to personalize the tale with their own ad-libbing makes the story perfect for my little one, who never fails to feel concern for Bobo's plight, and tremendous reassurance in the knowledge that the missing Mommy always comes back to her beloved baby. It is a perfect book for snuggling down to sleep, and in my house it practically guarantees sweet dreams.

This is a fantastic picture book. First, in its simplicity of language, for there are only three words in this story. But that doesn't mean that it is less than any other picture book. Quite the contrary, the incredibly expressive characters, especially our main character, Bobo, are illustrated with complete heart and soul. Bobo's quest for a hug is truly heartbreaking at times, yet the final hug is the epitome of happiness and comfort. Children will have a great time identifying all the animals and watching a friendship develop between Bobo and the elephants. If you hug your own kid everytime someone in the story hugs, you will have a great time, too!!