I Hug

McPhail, D. (2017). I Hug. Holiday House. 
32 Pages, Grades Preschool - 3, Picture book, ISBN: 978-0823438471

I Hug is illustrated and written by David McPhail, and it is one of the great picture books in the "I Like to Read" series. This book talks about one little girl named Zabella likes to hug all the wonderful things around her. She hugs her parents, her friends, her animals, her belongings, and nature. She enjoys giving a hug not only to human and other creatures but also to non-living things and objects that make her life happier and better. 

I absolutely love this children book in terms of its beautiful illustrations, simple texts, and positives ideas it reveals. It is a perfect picture book for beginning readers to read. First, McPhail uses watercolors to create all the scenes about a girl who loves to hug. Kids will love these soft illustrations and imagine they were the little girl in the book. Also, it is nice that either the illustrations fill a whole page or the images are emphasized by whitening the rest areas. For the texts that McPhail uses in the book, it is very appropriate to use familiar vocabulary and simple repetition because beginning readers can easily follow and understand the content. Furthermore, I hug reveals the key idea that everyone should be grateful for what we have and embrace everything in the world. The book also shares some shallow ideas about feelings and emotions, community, and the relationships with family, friends, and nature. I would recommend this book for beginning readers to read, and they will definitely enjoy it! 


Reviewed by Liu, Yulin.