Recommended Title: "Hug Machine" by Scott Campbell

The holidays can be a wonderful time to share books with your kids - but sometimes it can be hard to choose something that everyone will like. Speaking from personal experience, it's also often hard to find seasonally relevant picture books that are non-denominational AND well-written. For me, there's one go-to book that gets to the heart of what this time of year is all about without being too cloying, too sweet, or too specific.

Click on the picture to find this book in the Stevens Memorial Library catalog!

Hug Machine by Scott Campbell is a snapshot of the life of a young boy who's on a mission to spread joy and happiness though his hugs. He's excitable, relatable, and enthusiastic about his mission, proclaiming over and over, "I AM THE HUG MACHINE!" He hugs crying babies! Mailboxes! Spiky porcupines! Nothing he encounters is not worth an earnest squeeze.

I like this book for a few reasons. For starters, it's very silly, and uses a lot of active language to help the story feel action-packed. The illustrations are sufficiently detailed to offer new discoveries with every reading. It's also one of the only stories I've read about sharing kindness and affection that has a young boy as its protagonist. Our hero Hug Machine is definitely demonstrating the "E" in "RAISE" throughout this book!

This is Scott Campbell's first work as an author of children's books; previously, he illustrated Kelly DiPucchio's Zombie in Love and Zombie in Love 2+1. I'm a big fan of these books, so if you like his artwork you should definitely check them out - they are, however, decidedly more gruesome than Hug Machine.

Recommendation Snapshot:

Ideal Audience: K-4th grade (it's pretty short but would work as a discussion-starter for older grades).

Ideal Time of Day/Year for Sharing: holidays, Valentine's Day, bedtime

Worth Owning?: The art in this story will stand the test of time, I think, and the story makes for a great gift idea!

Parent Enjoyment Level: On a scale of 1-10, I'd put this at a solid 8 - it's cute without being saccharine, and will probably result in you getting lots of hugs!