A very cute book for kids with a message about respecting boundaries, both your own and those of others. In this book, a little girl offers her cat, who is not feeling well, a hug. Suddenly, many different animals come and ask for a hug, leaving the little girl overwhelmed and tired. This book is a wonderful starting place to have a conversation with your kid about respect and consent.

I received an e-galley of this book from Kids Can Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

In Hug?, a young girl asks her cat if she would like a hug when she is not feeling well. That sets off a chain of events as more and more creatures show up wanting hugs as well. Finally, the young girl has had enough and is overwhelmed by the requests.

I really liked the concept of the book - and the illustrations And imagination are both fun and amusing. The dialogue within the story is simple enough for young readers to follow along. The only thing that I’m not sure gets across as well as it needs to be is the message of it. The idea of needing to ask for permission to hug someone and not demand it. The end of the book does seem to convey these message after the girl is overwhelmed and her cat asks her if she needs a hug, but for younger readers, it may be up to older readers to have a discussion about what happens in the story. There is definitely a lot of potential in the story book, the illustrations are adorable and it can be a great platform to use to have meaningful discussions about compassion and consent.

Not only is the artwork super cute the message behind the story is easy for kids to understand. The importance of hugging when someone feels down and understanding that sometimes giving too much of yourself can exhaust how you feel.. I do not want to give too much away, but I do know that I will be purchasing a copy for my story as a great story to use when I am teaching about kindness.

Hug? is a delightful cute picture book that I think children will get a laugh out of. Working with children most of my Adult life, they do love their hugs. This book can also be used to talk about and help explain consent. 💕

While the pictures were cute and I was intrigued at first, I wish this book had spoken more about consent. I appreciated that each animal asked before they got a hug, but you could tell as the book went on that the main character was not comfortable hugging some of the characters. I was hoping that maybe there would be a conversation about it being okay to refuse a hug, but we didn't quite get there. While I think this book would do well at story time, I wish that there was that consent element included. While you could definitely use this book to ignite those conversations, I'm not sure the overall message was effective. While our main character does eventually say no and is comforted, I just wish there was more talk about setting personal boundaries and how that is completely okay.

This book was adorable. I liked the message and the artwork was cute. I like that it was short enough that I could read to my one year old without her getting bored.

Hug? by Charlene Chua, is a cute children’s picture book which can help children learn about boundaries. I am a hugger but their are times people don’t want to be hugged or even I don’t want to be. I thought it was great idea to discuss with little ones.

I loved the illustrations they are cute, bright and engaging. Overall I thought this was a fantastic book for young children .

I requested and received an Advanced Readers Copy from the publisher and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I loved the idea and concept behind this book as a mum.

My daughter who has recently turned three really enjoyed it too, she loved the images and giggled at the story. She does ask for a lot of hugs at the moment too but when we ask her for a hug she does quite often say no - it has to be on her terms - so this was great at showing the different angles too.

It is 4 stars from me for this one - highly recommended!

An adorable children’s picture book which can help children begin to explore emotions.

The illustrations are simple, bright and engaging. The basis of the book is exploring different types of hug and how sometimes they are not always welcome. As a result, there are underlying themes of consent. There isn’t a whole lot of plot or text so is not too challenging and suitable for all young children.

Thanks to the publisher and author for the eARC.

Hug by Charlene Chua. I think this definitely a cute little book. Hugs are good for all people. Kids should have the decision on whether to hug someone or not. Right now we live in a pandemic times and we try to discourage hugs with strangers but parents could add that into the discussion if they wanted.

Hugs Can Be Complicated

This is a silly and fun little book about hugs. When we usually think about hugging, it is a pleasant and mutually beneficial activity. But the little girl in this book discovers something quite different. The story begins with the girl’s pet cat not feeling so well, and a little girl offers a hug. Having seen this hug, other animals nearby—and there appears to be quite a menagerie—start asking for hugs as well. This appears to be okay at first until animals like a skunk and a porcupine show up! The only animal who doesn't seem to want a hug is a somewhat arrogant unicorn who passes her by. After all the hugs, including the difficult ones, the little girl isn't feeling so well herself. So then her cat offers her a hug. The book ends with the unicorn getting a little payback (nothing too serious). The illustrations of this book are detailed and colorful. The book would definitely be visually appealing to a young child. The book is certainly very silly at times, especially as the hugs get weirder and weirder. The looks on the little girl’s face could evoke laughter alone. If your child enjoys that kind of humor, she or he may enjoy this book.

Hug? is a children’s book written by Charlene Chua.

Summary: A girl gives a sick cat a comforting hug. What happens after that? EVERYONE wants a hug!

My Thoughts: This book is really cute. I love the premise, the pictures convey the story in a clever way, and overall-it is just a lot of fun.

I have already read it twice, and wouldn’t mind reading it again. This is good, because it really is a book that young children will want you to read over and over again.

This would be a great choice for a gift as well, and I think I might pick it up for my niece and nephew.

Hug? is definitely worth reading. And don’t forget to look closely at all the pictures as there are some pretty funny ones!

I would like to thank Kids Can Press for providing me with a free digital copy of this book in exchange for my review. Thank you!

Sweet and simple story. My kiddo really likes it. It would be a fun gift idea to mail to kids who are going through a rough patch.

Once again I wanted to read and review this children's book but after I clicked Read Now it was a PDF book. I only read Kindle files. I noticed that some publishers are now saying whether a book is Kindle or PDF, that should be a requirement.

Sorry I can't review this title, it sounds delightful

This book talks about the power of a hug.
The drawings are very adorable, so many pets, It's A good book for kids.

This picture book starts out light-heartedly as a child gives hugs to a talking cat and other animals. Then it becomes a little overwhelming as more animals ask for hugs and some of them make her uncomfortable in innocent ways. Examples are a large bear who hugs her too tightly and a skunk whose hug makes her smelly. When she has had enough, she lets the animals know in a very assertive way. This book could be used as a tool to talk with young children about physical boundaries and even sensory overload. I did not quite know how to interpret the ending, but it concludes with smiles all around. The author is also the illustrator and her images are charming and wonderfully convey the feelings of both the child and animals.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an e-galley of the book.

This book is one of the most beautiful and enjoyable I have ever read. Is the power of a hug underrated most of the time? But this book highlights it beautifully, and in it we see how sometimes a hug can make us feel better; If you have a child or a nephew this book is a perfect gift.

This is a sweet book. I work with young children and this book is a good introduction to open discussions about personal space and boundaries. The illustrations are wonderful.

A little girl hugs her cat and is then asked by so many other animals to hug them that she ends up needing a hug herself. The illustrations are sweet and the girl becomes more and more disheveled. I‘m not sure if the message is 100% on point, but maybe not every book needs a message.

Such a cute read! The illustrations of each animal were done really well. The premise of this book - the joy of hugs, and how sometimes a hug can be too much - was a nice concept, and is a nice way to go about explaining to children how they can appreciate hugs but are also allowed to ask for space. Loved it!