Hugs on the Wind

This book is a creative and beautiful way to deal with the universal theme of loss (in any and many forms) without using the words death, dying, or grief which often have negative or simply difficult connotations for children (and even adults!) It is written beautifully by wonderful authors and the watercolor illustrations are soft and serene. Thank you for this beautiful work! I'm buying it right now for my nephews, neices and most definitely for my very own children someday!

I give this book top rating. I think the power of Hugs on the Wind is that it taps into a highly emotional human experience - loss of someone or something precious we wish were near - but it does so in such an uplifting way. I had the good fortune of attending author Vernise Elaine Pelzel's reading of this touching story, which is beautifully written and illustrated with a classic look. As I sat and listened, with my five year old triplets, I was impressed both as a mother and a teacher at how tenderly the issue of missing someone was portrayed. All three of my children enjoyed this book. One daughter said her favorite page was when the little rabbit told jokes to the river. She liked how Little Cottontail was able to help himself feel close to his grandfather, even though he was unable to see him. I anticipate reading HUGS, both as a bedtime story and as a "jump start," to help children deal with their feelings in a wide assortment of situations, like when we lost our beloved stuffed animal "Monkey" on a trip. Also, when I had to be away from home for a weekend and I was sorely missed. Now, sometime soon, they will be loosing their grandmother and Hugs will be very helpful. Hugs on the Wind is a wonderful addition to our family library. I highly recommend it!

Your grandchild, your son or daughter, and you will all enjoy the warm feelings that emerge from both the story and the pictures in this wonderful book, especially if your little one lives some distance away. The point of this book is absence and separation. When you give it, you will imagine your son or daughter reading it to your grandchild who just may be thinking about you as they hear it. The delightful illustrations richly reinforce this mood-- and give the young one some things to identify, like flowers, bunnies, and butterflies. This book is a perfect gift for any child who is apart from a loved one, regardless of why they are separated.

If you're looking for a children's picture book to help a little one accept the loss of a loved one early in their life, you can't do better than "Hugs On The Wind." The lovingly illustrated cover is a fitting prelude to a meaningful text. The meadow is the symbolic landscape where natural acts of affection are used as symbols of transmission; such as sending a hug on the wind or a kiss to the moon to blow to the lost loved one. The authors are to be congratulated on their idea to write a book that will help foster creative thinking in childen, as well as the notion that the dramas in life are best understood through the eye of the poet.

It is beautiful. It's the most moving, to me, of Marsha Diane Arnold's books, and the best illustrated, even in light of the perfection of Heart of a Tiger. It's the naturalism that does it for me.