Very cute book, lovely rhythm to the words and gorgeous illustrations. My kids loved this before bed.

The warning is right - you will want to hug this book and the beautiful story it tells!

Perfect for reading at bedtime, the text rhymes which is always a positive for me! The book is full of lovely illustrations that help the story come alive, as you join the mission to find the best hug!

Absolutely loved this story and highly recommend to share with your little ones!

A cute story about who gives the BEST hug.

The child narrator is on the lookout for the “very best hug”. He tries various animals from koalas to rhinos to seahorses to skunks. Some hugs are good, some are okay. But after a long search, he realises that the best hugs comes from much closer to home.

While the ending of the story is easy to guess, the journey to the discovery is fun. It was nice to see a wide range of wild animals in the content, ranging from popular ones such as koalas and rhinos and monkeys, to the exotic such as narwhals and porcupines and walruses. Surprisingly there were no pets or farm animals such as dogs, cats, horses or cows. I would have assumed these to be the first choice of a child searching for memorable hugs. Oh well!

The content is written in rhythmic prose. While the rhymes are a tad forced at times, they work mostly well for the book.

The vocabulary seems a bit difficult at times for the target age group of 2-5 years. Some of the tougher words can certainly be explained, but surely ‘rambunctious’ is too big a word for a picture book!

The illustrations left me mostly satisfied. Most of the animals are quite cutely drawn, and our little narrator is adorable with his curly mop of hair. The pages are bright and colourful. The only thing I didn’t like was the depiction of a couple of the animals such as the cobra and the penguins; they didn’t match their real-life avatars at all.
(Now that I think about it, the gender of the narrator isn’t specified in the story at all, and the way the character is drawn, the child could be a girl or a boy or any other gender. Chalk this as a plus for the book.)

Overall, a sweet book that could be a good way of encountering new animals, as well as learning plenty of new words in a fun way. The illustrations are a big plus.

4 stars.

My thanks to Bloomsbury Children's Books and NetGalley for the DRC of “The Very Best Hug”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

We loved this story it was a really special story. My daughter kept asking me too read again this is definitely going to be a new favourite in our house.

A sweet fun book that searches for the very best hug. Although some hugs might be fun there’s no better hug than a hug filled with love.

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

The Very Best Hug is an adorable picture book for children about how to find the very best hug. The child in the book tries hugs out from every cuddly toy and animal it can find but their hugs just don't seem to fit just right until they realise the very best hugs come from those who love them most. The story is told in a fun rhyming way filled with cute and funny illustrations that children will love to see as the story is read.

This is so lovely! I can't wait to share it with the small person who's coming to visit this afternoon. The rhymes are fun and the plethora of animals mentioned is wonderful! The illustrations are fabulous - there's so much to look at on each page :)

I heartily recommend this to anyone who has small children.

I think this will appeal to nursery children and be useful for looking at animal names , rhyme and alliteration

A very sweet picture book about how we feel when we are hugged by our loved ones! The rhymes are sure to be a big hit with the little ones. Perfect bedtime story followed by lots of cosy hugs. Thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for letting me read this one. It’s out on 19th January but open for pre-order now!

I was smiling from the first word up until the very last. Oh, my days! Cute, cuter, the cutest. ♥️

The illustrations are colourful, charming and full of joy. Kids don’t need to worry about reading because the beautiful pictures magically tell the story.
However, please get your kids to read (or read it to them) because it takes the book from cute to cuteness overload. 🥰
Seriously, I adore the rhymes. They are clever, engaging and funny. I can guarantee you’ll be smiling as much as I was.

I have always wanted to know who gives the best hugs. Bears, lions and koalas are so fluffy and cuddly that their hugs must be epic! But thanks to this story, it’s confirmed where to get the VERY BEST HUGS, or as we say in my family, cwtch.

(Cwtch is the welsh word for hug/cuddle).

Thank you, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc & NetGalley, for the eAc in return for my honest review.

I thought that this was a really enjoyable book

The story was easy to follow and it was fun to read with my daughter, she thought it was really fun and loved being able to help and join in reading the story as she is now reading on her own

The illustrations are lovely and they really bring the story to life - its a real feel good book

It is five stars from me for this one – very highly recommended!