Another Review at MyShelf.Com

One Big Hug

By Shirley Hillard

     In this vibrant picture book, little Matthew and his grandmother try to articulate how much they love each other. While the idea and the illustrations are very cute, the text may be a little confusing for children to follow. This book could have been used as a counting book except that there seems to be no reasonable sequence to the increasing numbers on each page. For instance, the first comparison Grandma makes, "I love you as much as 2 bugs in a rug" is followed by "4 doggies". This would lead the reader to believe that the book counts by 2s. However, after the dogs, are "7 elephants" then "16 bears". The numbers increase haphazardly until 100 is reached. When it's Matthew's turn to compare, his numbers are 1, 3, 5, 6, and 10.

     As it stands, I would not recommend this book for the young readers it's intended for since the numbers may confuse them. I think this would be better for children who are already familiar and comfortable with counting. Then children can think about addition and subtraction as they figure out how the numbers relate to each other.

     The imagination in the illustrations would appeal to children. There are many silly things like pink pigs wallowing in a pie and singing crocodiles in bright red choir robes. This book would surely get a giggle out of children and then a big hug.

The Book

Mamoo House
2005
Hardcover
1-933014-20-2
Picture Book
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Excerpt

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The Reviewer

Sarah Lomas
Reviewed 2005
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© 2005 MyShelf.com