Hugless Douglas is a big, adorable, brown bear who is the main character in several picture books. As we couldn’t decide which was our favourite story we are recommending two!
Hugless Douglas
Douglas wakes up and goes to look for a hug. After several disastrous attempts at hugging various objects and animals Douglas meets a rabbit who takes him to a familiar cave. Inside the cave Douglas finds the best person to give him the big hug that he is looking for!
Don’t Worry Hugless Douglas
Douglas’ dad gives him a new woolly hat but unfortunately while Douglas is showing it off to his friends the hat starts to unravel. Various animals try to help him but Douglas is just worried about what his dad will say. Rabbit convinces him that honesty is the best policy and that he should simply tell his Dad what happened.
Both these stories highlight the relationship between a parent and child and at the end the solution to Douglas’ problem lies within the security of his own family. Douglas is a character that children can easily identify with and he is supported by a cast of wonderfully drawn animal friends to help (and sometimes hinder!) him. I love the way that a big brown bear is portrayed as young and unsure about how to deal with familiar childhood situations as this shows children that you don’t just have to be small to have worries or problems. The humour in David Melling’s illustrations will be appreciated by adults and children alike, the pictures really do tell the story with the text playing a supporting role.
This are great stories which entertainingly demonstrate how children can resolve familiar problems.
Age Range: 2 +
Author / Illustrator: David Melling
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