Hugs and Kisses by Christophe Loupy, Eve Tharlet, Eve Tharlet (Illustrator), J. Alison James (Translator)

From the Publisher

An irresistibly appealing puppy named Hugs sets out one morning on a quest. He asks every animal he meets for a kiss, and they are all happy to oblige. The pup discovers that duck's kisses are hard and wet; a horse's kiss is a little sticky, but very warm; the pig's kiss is a little muddy and bristly, tickley but tender. He collects lots of wonderful kisses, but when he returns home, he discovers that the best kiss of all is the one he gets from his loving mother.

Publishers Weekly

Youngsters can touch the soft fur of Hugs, the pup star of the board book Hugs and Kisses by Christophe Lupy, illus. by Eve Tharlet, as he goes in search of the best kiss. A pig's rough skin and a horse's velvety coat are among the other textures along the way to mother's silky ear at book's end. PW wrote of the original, "Like a kiss itself, this tale may well be the subject of repeated requests." Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

This homage to affection from a French team stars Hugs, a farm puppy who is on a mission to find out which animal delivers the best kiss. Each encounter possesses its own distinct characteristics. The horse's delivery, for example, "was a bit damp, of course, and sticky, but it was quite warm." A rabbit's kiss was "a bit wiggley, of course, and quick, but it was quite soft." If the narrative includes a few too many examples and winds up predictably (his mother's kiss is best), Tharlet's paintings carry the volume. Keeping background elements to a minimum, she focuses each of her graceful, gauzy, ink-and-watercolor illustrations on the smooches themselves, which she imagines in endearing vignettes. Hugs rises up on his hind legs to connect with a butterfly and sits blissfully to receive a buss on each cheek from a pair of doting ducks; a comically looming pink sow plants one on the hero's nose. Like a kiss itself, this tale may well be the subject of repeated requests. Ages 3-5. (Jan.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Norah Piehl - Children's Literature

Farm puppy Hugs sets out one morning on a quest to see whose kiss is best. From a duck, whose kiss is "a bit hard of course, and wet," to a butterfly, whose kiss "tickled a bit of course," Hugs visits many animals in the farmyard and beyond, making friends and collecting kisses along the way. In the end, though, none of these kisses can compare to the one from Hugs's mother, whose kiss is "the best kiss of all." James's translation from the German is smooth, even if the text is somewhat repetitious. But the familiarity of repetition is part of the point of a book like this, and young listeners will be reassured not only by the repeating plot of Hugs's journey, but also by the love and security at journey's end. Tharlet's soft watercolors illustrate gauzy pastel background landscapes through which wide-eyed, friendly animals romp and roam. The board book includes touch spots to feel--such as the duck's hard beak, Hugs soft body, pigs' leathery skin and mama's soft ear. 2005 (orig. 2001), North-South Books, Ages 3 to 6.

Kirkus Reviews

A puppy named Hugs sets out one morning to collect kisses, but after receiving tender, affectionate busses from a horse (on his head), a pig (on his nose), a rabbit (on his neck), ducks (on his cheeks), and even a butterfly ("Oh, so fine, a butterfly's kiss! He'd never felt anything like it before. It tickled a bit, of course, but it was wonderful"), he concludes that Mother's kisses are best. Who would argue? Younger children will be more responsive to Tharlet's (Happy Easter, Davy, not reviewed, etc.) sweet, spacious, fuzzy lined watercolors than to Sendak's naturalistic art in Minarik's near-cousin classic, A Kiss For Little Bear (1968). Tharlet's text has been translated into a lovely childlike voice, earnest and refreshingly sweet. Though Hugs certainly has a blissful time of it, the sentiment never crosses the line into glop. Rare is the child, parent, or older sibling who will be able to resist this invitation to mix reading with kissing. (Picture book. 2-5)

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