Phillis Gershator

A sweet sing-song narrative is paired with colorful and cute artwork in this gentle reassurance tale for younger children. "Wake up! Wake up! / The day is new. / The clock says eight. / What shall we do? / Wash our faces, comb out our hair, / choose the clothes we like to wear. / Eat from a bowl, drink from a mug - / What time is it? / Time for a hug!" And so begins Time for a Hug, which follows a mother bunny and her child through the day, showing that no matter what activity they're show more engaged in, there's always time for a hug, and room for love.

Although not a book I might have picked up, if left to my own devices - somehow it seemed like it would be just a little too sweet, when I first saw the cover - a co-worker's genuine love for Time for a Hug convinced me to give it a chance. All in all, I found it moderately charming, and think that with its rhyming text, bouncy rhythm, and cute illustrations, it will make for an engaging read-aloud experience, especially at bedtime. Recommended to anyone looking for new reassurance tales for toddlers. show less

This is a wonderful collection of stories! Each story has a short piece afterward to give background and questions to spark discussion. Very well done! I hope very much that Ms Gershator will do more with this rich material.

There are several reasons I liked this book about when it snows. The first reason is because of the plot. The book is not just about what kids like to do when it snows, but what the animals do when it snows. "'I wear a new coat," says the stoat, "a king from head to toe." White winter fur when it starts to snow. "I follow the turtle," says the frog. "Down into the mud I go." Peep, peep, peep when it starts to snow.'" As children read this book they gain knowledge of what many different show more animals do in winter when it snows. The next thing I liked about this book were the illustrations. The illustrations on each page matched the animal that the book was describing. This helps to give the children a visual representation of the animal the book is talking about if they don't already know what it is. Lastly, I liked the language/ writing. The text was descriptive and engaging as I read about what different animals do when it snows. In addition, the text repeated itself a few times asking the questions "What if it starts to snow? What do you do? Where do you go?" This not only keeps the readers engaged but also reminds them of what the animals are talking about as they tell you what they do when it snows. All in all, I feel that the 'big idea' of this story is to learn about what all the different animals do when it snows. Not all animals play in the snow like we do, some hibernate, some fly south, and others stay indoors (ex: cats). We are lucky to be able to play, and have fun in the snow! show less

At first I was a bit disappointed with this book. My daughter, then eight months old, was not very interested in it though she loved almost all her other books. She is now almost a year old and in the past few months she started pulling this book off the shelf again. She loves looking at the pictures and picking out the animals. I think the pages were too complex and crowded when she was younger, but now she enjoys taking in the pictures and searching out the animals.

This is a big, sturdy, show more colorful book. Each spread has a little window giving a peek at the next animal to be discussed. The rhymes are pleasant with just the right amount of words. The illustrations are in a pretty collage style. It is a pleasant book for adults and babies to share together. show less