Hilarious for adults (the rabbit scene is unforgettable).
Good for 5 year-olds or younger children if they already love reading, or for story-telling in preschool. Absence of repetitions and rhymes requires some adaptation, but the story and the final are a winner... ( )

Poor Douglas, who just needs a hug and can't find one! This was cute, but I think my favorite part was the list of all the different types of hugs on the very last page. :) ( )

Ms. B recommended

Douglas wakes from his long winter sleep and is ready for a hug - but he can't find one anywhere. A sympathetic rabbit leads him back to his cave, where Douglas' mama bear is just waking up.

Endpapers show all different kinds of hugs.

See also: Will Ladybug Hug? by Hilary Leung ( )

Poor Douglas, who just needs a hug and can't find one! This was cute, but I think my favorite part was the list of all the different types of hugs on the very last page. :)

I thoroughly enjoyed the book Hugless Douglas by David Melling. One of the things that I enjoy most about this book is that David Melling is both the author and illustrator. So the illustrations compliment the text perfectly. Instead of having an author try to communicate to the illustrator what he/she wants the pictures to look like the author already knows what they want the illustrations to show. The plot is also well paced as it constantly keeps readers at the edge of their seat wondering if Douglas will ever get the hug he is seeking. Typically I am a fan of the book being written in the first person point of view but this book is in the third person and I wouldn’t change a thing about it. From the third person we get to see Douglas’s struggle to find the perfect hug. The big message of the story is that if you keep looking for something eventually you will find it so just be persistent. ( )