The Runaway Hug

by Nick Bland, Freya Blackwood (Illustrator)

Overview

"Mommy," said Lucy. "Can I have a hug before I go to bed?" 
When Mommy jokes that she only has one hug left, Lucy decides she must keep Mommy's last hug safe. As Lucy shares the hug with everyone in her large and loving family, she is always careful to get it back . . . until the canine member of the family refuses to play along!

Highly acclaimed, internationally bestselling picture-book creators Nick Bland and Freya Blackwood collaborate for the first time on this charming story, which celebrates the imaginative powers of children and the extraordinary love to be found in ordinary bedtime routines. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780449818251
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	12/24/2013
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.20(w) x 11.20(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

NICK BLAND began his award-winning career in 2005 with A Monster Wrote Me a Letter and has since published fourteen books and counting. Nick considers himself a writer who can draw a bit and is eternally grateful he can do both, because there is nothing that can't be said when the two are combined. He lives a ferry ride from Darwin in Australia's Northern Territory, where he gives plenty of hugs to family and friends, but never to the local crocodiles. 

FREYA BLACKWOOD's illustrations have won numerous awards, including the Kate Greenaway Medal—which recognizes the best children's book illustrations published in the United Kingdom—for her work in Harry and Hopper. For The Runaway Hug, Freya didn't have to do much research to illustrate Lucy's world. Her daughter provided all the reference she needed to create the clutter of a lived-in and well-loved home. Freya's lives in Orange, New South Wales, Australia. 

Editorial Reviews

…Freya Blackwood…tips Nick Bland's happy story into the realm of irresistible charm. Her deft watercolor-washed sketches of the big, messy household are full of realistic details…Amid the chaos, tangible love shines through.

The New York Times - Sarah Harrison Smith

We follow young Lucy through her bedtime preparations and into her pajamas across the half title and title pages. Then it is time for her to ask her mom for a hug. But her mom says she only has one left, so Lucy asks to borrow it, promising to bring it back. Off across the large double pages she goes, to give and get back the "nice" hug from her dad, her twin brothers, and her baby sister Lily. Each time the hug is different, but it is "just as nice." When she gives the hug to her dog Annie, however, Annie runs away with it. Lucy just cannot catch her; she wants to cry having lost Mom's last hug. But she is finally able to return it in bed. And as for a kiss, luckily Mom has "plenty of those." Blackwood creates a delightful sequence with her naturalistic pencil line and watercolors from the jacket/cover picture of Lucy hugging the title's golden "G" to the final double page of the family at rest. The pages are filled with the loving family and Lucy's loving hugs. With added note of charm, Blackwood made the end pagesmatch Lucy's pajamas. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz

Children's Literature - Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz