The Hug by David Grossman

Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014. ISBN 9780715645871
Recommended for independent readers aged 10+. At first glance of the images, I imagined this to be a story about the loss of a child or parent - the images seemed sad and separate. However, The Hug shows the perspective of being alone because you are the only one in the world like you! It is written as a conversation between a mother and a son as they walk together. The young boy's thoughts of being alone in the world develop into how wonderful it is to be one of a kind while being part of a whole - part of a family, part of the world.
While The Hug is a children's picture book, the theme is quite mature and would be a great discussion starter in the classroom or between parent and child. Children could look at what makes them individuals as well as how they belong because of similarities. This book would be a great lead in to many topics from Child Protection and the right to be safe to using Venn diagrams to compare peers.
Kylie Kempster