Hugless Douglas finds a hug! by David Melling

Hodder, 2013. ISBN 9781444912678.
(Age: 2+) Picture book, Puppet, Love. The fifth in the series about Hugless Douglas, has Douglas waking in the morning and trying to find his first hug for the day. He asks a variety of beings, sheep, an owl and rabbits, but all have a reason not to hug the bear. Eventually they all try to find Douglas a hug, and it happens.
Douglas is a glove puppet in this rendition of his tale, and so the parent or sibling reading the book to a smaller child will use the glove puppet to read the story. Easy to handle, the glove puppet is cute and endearing, and the arms will be able to give a small child a hug at the end of the book.
Neatly resolved, the illustrations are bright and imaginative, entreating a child to look more closely at what is offered on each page. The robust nature of the board pages will ensure that this book is long lasting, and the glove puppet too is quite robust.
An interactive book for the kindergarten or home, the emphasis on love and hugs will make this a favourite amongst small children.
Fran Knight