Hogs Hate Hugs by Tiziana Bendall-Brunello and John Bendall-Brunello
| Hogs Hate Hugs by Tiziana Bendall-Brunello and John Bendall-Brunello | |
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| Category: For Sharing | |
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Reviewer: Zoe Morris
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| Summary: Little Hog hates hugs, but his family and friends don't believe him. This is cute book but we had a few reservations about the methods. | |
| Buy? Maybe | Borrow? Maybe |
| Pages: 32 | Date: June 2014 |
| Publisher: Lion Children's Books | |
| ISBN: 978-0745965147 | |
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Little Hog is the cutest little thing you ever did see. And that’s a bad thing. Because he never gets peace. Everyone wants to hug him ALL THE TIME. What’s a poor, over-hugged hog to do? Well, in this case, Little Hog has a solution. He makes a bold sign and hangs it on the tree. HOGS HAT HUGS! it reads. And that’s that.
This is a slightly odd story, perhaps, because the other animals do not respect Little Hog’s request. I’m pretty sure these days that even as a child you have the right to say no to hugs and kisses and any other contact with people (or animals). But not in this story. Little Hog’s family and friends are unconvinced, and so a plan is hatched.
It gets even more bizarre. To convince Little Hog that he does, in fact, still need hugs in his life, mummy and daddy and the other animals conspire to scare him into submission. Dressed as a ghost they chase him through the forest until he realises he needs a hug more than anything in the world right now.
This book did not turn out the way I expected it to. It is quite cute as it starts. The illustrations are lovely with an array of cuddly (huggable?) animals who all live together in a nice forest. It starts off quite calmly too, which fits in well with the muted colours. There are lots of good describing words as we see who hugs and how, for example turtles hug slowly, and rabbits hug while hopping.
I think whether or not this book will be a hit depends on how sensitive your child is, and it could go either way. I’m sure some will find it funny and giggle when the ‘ghost’ trips and falls and everyone comes tumbling out, but for every child who thinks that, I think there may be some who are a little scared, either by the ghost itself or more subtly by the way the forest creatures manipulate the situation to get Little Hog to change his mind.
I don't often read this much into books for pre-schoolers but something just didn't sit right with me, hence the middle of the road rating. Yes, it's a 'joke' and yes, everything works out in the end, but I wasn't entirely comfortable with the route the animals took.
Thanks go to the publishers for supplying this book.
Cantankerous King Colin by Phil Allcock and Steve Stone is a silly book for this age group and also employs the tactic of 'let's see how many vocabulary-enhancing descriptors we can cram into one story'.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Hogs Hate Hugs by Tiziana Bendall-Brunello and John Bendall-Brunello at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Hogs Hate Hugs by Tiziana Bendall-Brunello and John Bendall-Brunello at Amazon.com.
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