Big Hugs Little Hugs
Absolutely adorable animals, an ultrasimple text, and a clean design make this offering from Bond (illustrator of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, 1985) a winner for the youngest of children. Sure, it’s based on a false premise—most animals do not, in fact, hug—but this litany of loving creatures gets the point across that caring is cool. Striking collage art shows all kinds of animals, large (elephants) and small (ants), from all areas of the globe (penguins, pandas), and from settings both domestic (dogs, cats) and wild (bats, hippos). In most cases, the background is pure, fresh white, though occasionally there will be a simple brushstroke to indicate the environment, such as a few bluish streaks behind the penguins to suggest ice. There is more here than meets the eye; worked into all the hugging are key concepts for preschoolers, including relative sizes (“Big hugs / Little hugs”), positioning (“Inside / Outside”), locations (“Upstairs / Downstairs”), and more. Resistance is futile. Preschool. --Diane Foote