Hug Time
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- £2.99
Publisher Description
Join Jules, the kitten, on his discovery of how perfect and simple love can be as he travels the globe to share a hug with everyone he meets.
From port to port, from sea to sea, Jules hugs a hippo, a whale, a wombat, a panda, a giraffe and an elephant. But when he arrives in the North Pole, there doesn't seem to be anyone around to hug . . . Or is there?
A warm and engaging tale of love for fans of Guess How Much I Love You from internationally acclaimed MUTTS cartoonist, Patrick McDonnell, described by Peanuts creator Charles Schulz as "One of the best comic strips of all time."
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
McDonnell (Just Like Heaven), creator of the comic strip Mutts, has a fan base that will greet this book with open arms. The strip's hero, the cat Jules, sets out to hug one of every sort of animal in the world. This large goal is made less overwhelming by the book's diminutive trim size and the conviction on Jules's tiny, wide-eyed face (famous for his big red honker). McDonnell's previous books had sparer palettes; this one combines warm, cream pages with pastel ink-and-watercolor vignettes to pleasing effect. Double-page spreads of snowy Arctic expanses under a moonlit turquoise sky provide a tense moment ("But at the North Pole, Jules sadly found/ What it would be like with no one around"). The artist quickly dispels the audience's concern, because as Jules starts to sniff, a polar bear offers him a hug. Meter and rhyme wobble a bit ("There once was a kitten so filled with love,/ He wanted to give the whole world a hug"), but the sentiment seems to come from the heart. McDonnell's carefully mixed gouaches and his able draftsmanship the rarer the animal, the less likely he is to resort to caricature hint at newly revealed talents. Ages 3-6.
