CBR15Passport own (Hattie Hates Hugs)
Sarah Hovorka has a thing about hugs. Now, it sounds like they mostly like them, but maybe for other people. You see in Hattie Hates Hugs Hovorka has Hattie in the uneasy and unpleasant situation of a family reunion where Hattie has a family of huggers, and Hattie hates hugs. They make her all squirmy and stiff. And boy do they upset her tummy. But it is not until the wise matriarch of her family lets her in on the secret of her own hug issues that she finds a way to not be hugged, but still show love for her family. And in Same Love, Different Hug our main narrator loves all kinds of hugs! Big, small, bear, from the side, jumping hugs, sneaky hugs! But they know that there is a hug (or not a hug) for every situation. Sometimes mom wants lion hugs, or brother is okay with that sneaky hug, and cousin want spinning hugs. But sometimes their friend does not want any hugs at all.
In today’s world of consent, these two books are a great way to introduce the idea of standing up for yourself, but in a nice way. Hattie’s story is a little more forward, while the young child of the second story knows that they must know what other people want and it is more subtle in the respect department. But both are good jumping off points to show a concept.
Hattie’s world comes alive with illustrations by Heather Brockman Lee and Different Hugs comes to fruition by Abbey Bryant’s work. They are radically different styles, but both are sweet and funny. Hattie is more realistic and different hugs has a more light-hearted, cartoonish picture. Therefore if you are not a fan of one art, the other could work for you. Both are good for the five and up crowd, but with Same Love, Different Hugs we can go younger. (However, you do have to wait until Summer 2023 for this as I found my copy off Edelweiss).