HUG ME

After a quarter-century hiatus, Stren has dusted off her hug-hungry porcupine, spruced him up with a new set of looks, and tendered him once more for public adoration. Elliot Kravitz, a young porcupine in search of a hug, was more a child of the times back in 1977 at the tail end of counter-culturedom. He is an optimist and an idealist; he won’t take no for an answer. His porcupine chums may sing the praises of quills, but Elliot still wants that hug. He tries telephone poles and parking meters and traffic signals, which are all happy to receive his hugs, but don’t reciprocate. He tries to fool folks by dressing up as a present and as a Christmas tree, so as to make a friend who might give him a hug, but no dice. Finally, he gives up. He shouts it to the heavens—“I GIVE UP!”—when lo, a young female porcupine hears him and together, very gently and carefully, they hug. There is no denying the book’s cuteness, now even more so with Stren’s new wobbly super-vulnerable Elliot. Nor is there any denying that simple act’s lasting goodness, not to mention its possibilities in the quest for love. (Picture book. 3-6)