HUGLESS DOUGLAS

A lovable brown bear needs a hug, but he doesn't know his own strength. One spring morning, young Douglas wakes from his hibernation and knows just what he needs. He wriggles out of his yellow pajamas, brushes his hair, puts on a scarf and sets out to get a hug. He remembers his best hugs were: big, so he tries a massive rock; tall, so he tries a tree; soft, so he tries a bush. He even scoops up a handful of sheep and goes after an owl. None of these provides a proper hug, and Douglas risks becoming a forest outcast. Finally, a helpful rabbit takes him by the paw, all around the forest and to a dark cave, where Douglas finds the perfect animal for a hug: his Mommy! Simultaneously goofy and heartwarming, a winning combination. Many of Melling's illustrations have rib-tickling touches, and a hilarious appendix shows the rabbit and a small flock of sheep demonstrating more than a dozen different hugs (the shy and unrequited hugs are particularly snort-inducing). (Picture book. 3-6)