Gershator (Moo, Moo, Brown Cow, Have You Any Milk, 2011), in collaboration with her mother, offers this sweet, brief rhyming tale celebrating hugs at any hour of the day.
Two bunnies, one small and orange and the other bigger and gray, wake up at 8:00 to begin a day chock-full of activities that preschoolers will recognize. Washing faces, getting dressed, baking a pie, playing with puppets, reading a book, bathing, brushing teeth and hopping off to bed are all portrayed in Walker’s softly colored full-page and double-page spreads or vignettes. Clearly the rabbits are full of affection. Their relationship could be parent and child, older sibling and younger or just roommates. As times passes, young readers will enjoy looking for the clock ticking off each hour until bedtime. Most hours prove to be a perfect moment to embrace. “Two o’clock, three o’clock. What shall we do? / Bounce a ball, ride a bike, climb a tree, / go on a hike. Smell a flower, chase a bug—What time is it? / Time for a hug!” The pleasingly predictable rhyme will have preschoolers chiming in all the way to the page where the covers are pulled up.
Worth a pause and may well inspire a hug or two. (Picture book. 2-4)
