The hug: Eoin McLaughlin & Polly Dunbar (Hb/large) (Hedgehog & Friends) - Hardcover

"What to do when you're a prickly animal hankering for a hug? Why, find another misfit animal also searching for an embrace! Sweet but 'tricky to hug' little Hedgehog is down in the dumps. Wandering the forest, Hedgehog begs different animals for hugs, but each rejects them. Readers will giggle at their panicked excuses--an evasive squirrel must suddenly count its three measly acorns; a magpie begins a drawn-out song--but will also be indignant on poor hedgehog's behalf. Hedgehog has the appealingly pink-cheeked softness typical of Dunbar's art, and the gentle watercolors are nonthreatening, though she also captures the animals' genuine concern about being poked. A wise owl counsels the dejected hedgehog that while the prickles may frighten some, "there's someone for everyone." That's when Hedgehog spots a similarly lonely tortoise, rejected due to its "very hard" shell but perfectly matched for a spiky new friend. They race toward each other until the glorious meeting, marked with swoony peach swirls and overjoyed grins. At this point, readers flip the book to hear the same gloomy tale from the tortoise's perspective until it again culminates in that joyous hug, a book turn that's made a pleasure with thick creamy paper and solid binding. Watching unlikely friends finally be as 'happy as two someones can be' feels like being enveloped in your very own hug."--Kirkus

Hedgehog was feeling sad. As sad as a hedgehog can feel. So sad only one thing could help... Tortoise was feeling sad. As sad as a tortoise can feel. So sad only one thing could help... In this clever flipbook, both a hedgehog and a tortoise are looking for a hug. They ask all the other animals they come across but for some reason no one will hug them. Until a wise owl explains: Hedgehog is too spiky; Tortoise is too bony. And that's when they find each other! A beautiful, heartwarming picture book with all the universal appeal of Guess How Much I Love You.