Tag the power of a hug

Group Hug

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Group Hug
Jean Reedy and Joey Chou
Scallywag Press

We humans so longed to be able to hug our friends and relations during the worst of the pandemic when it was not allowed, and so it is with the slug at the start of this jaunty, rhyming story.

Said slug soon comes upon a lone beetle looking as though some physical contact would do it the world of good and a heart-warming hug is duly bestowed.

Then, one by one along come Mouse, Skunk (exceedingly stinky), Squirrel (upon which Skunk had deposited some if its long-lingering aroma), a busy Beaver,

Porcupine (willing to shake off some of its prickles),

a groundhog, a goose, a fox, a moose and finally Bear. Each animal is welcomed into the cumulative hugging embrace with the refrain ‘GROUP HUG’ except Bear. The appearance of the lumbering ursine creature causes the others to break away and scatter far and wide in fright.

Now only Slug (the brave one) and Bear remain. Good old, knowing Slug ,with an unfailing source of warm-hearted embraces, is ready and willing to spread the love

thus precipitating the return of the others from their hiding places for the hugest ever huggers’ huddle.

Jean Reidy’s telling comprises story elements both young listeners and beginning readers delight in: a repeat refrain (the title in this case), a spare rhythmic rhyming text, gentle humour, along with themes of kindness, acceptance and inclusivity. All this, together with Joey Chou’s digital scenes, each of which is imbued with a sense of community delight, make for a welcome heart-warming hug of a book for group sharing and individual reading.

Captain Cuddles

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Captain Cuddles
Maudie Powell-Tuck and Julio Antonio Blasco
Little Tiger

There’s a new superhero on the block: step up Captain Cuddles. This clever canine, with his cape, mask and ginormous pink pants, is capable of the most amazing feats of heroism including turning baddies into goodies, merely with the power of a single hug. Don’t believe it? : well we all appreciate the power of a hug, having had to do without hugging during the worst of pandemic times.

There’s one singularly evil baddie however, that definitely has no intention of letting herself be embraced by the Captain and that is Wicked Flea. Said dastardly creature has a plan tucked beneath her wings and is about to unleash it in the name of all that’s bad.

She lures Captain Cuddles into a rocket on the pretext of someone within being in desperate need of a hug. The next thing he knows, our hugs hero is heading off into the depths of space, trapped within that space craft leaving the earth clear for all its baddies, like it or not to revert to their former pre-hug ways under the leadership of WF herself.

Or so she expects, for they’re not so easily persuaded as she thinks.

Captain Cuddles converts have a plan of their own but they appear to have reckoned without the wiliness of Wicked Flea.

What will win out: Team Huggers and their healing embrace or Teeny Team Flea? Or, maybe it it could even turn out to be a win-win situation … I wonder.

With cut away pages, flaps to explore and speech bubbles aplenty, this zany tale is full of dramatic moments brought into being through Blasco’s flattened images of the unlikely cast of characters and the lively text.
Superhero stories are very popular with young listeners and I have a feeling Captain Cuddles will join their number.