Lost in a Good Book

Published: 26th August 2014 
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Illustrator: Scott Campbell
Pages: 40
Format: Hardcover Picture Book
★   ★   ★   ★   ★  – 5 Stars

Who have YOU hugged today? Open your arms to this delightfully tender, goofy, and sweet tale.

Watch out world, here he comes! The Hug Machine!

Whether you are big, or small, or square, or long, or spikey, or soft, no one can resist his unbelievable hugs! HUG ACCOMPLISHED!

This endearing story encourages a warm, caring, and buoyantly affectionate approach to life. Everyone deserves a hug – and this book!

I love this book because it is simplistically sweet, a great story about a boy who just likes giving hugs because it makes him feel good and he thinks people will enjoy them as well. There is humour and heart, and it’s great to see the Hug Machine embrace (pun 100% intended) all manner of people and things in the effort to make them feel good. The Hug Machine takes us through who he hugs, why he hugs, and the ways he keeps his energy up whilst hugging all day long.

Campbell’s story is a delight to read but it is supported wholly by his illustrations as well. The expressions of the Hug Machine make this book because while the people and animals he hug may look confused at times, the serious and loving expression on his face while he hugs adds another great level.

What I love about this is that it is pure. It’s not moralistic or filled with lessons, not that some can’t be learnt from this, but it reads solely as a fun story about a little kid who loves to improve people’s mood and day with a hug.

You can purchase Hug Machine via the following

Booktopia | Book Depository

Wordery | Fishpond

Angus & Robertson | Dymocks

Amazon | Amazon Aust