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Time for a Hug (Snuggle Time Stories) by Gershator, Phillis, Green, Mim (2013) Board book

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A hug feels good. Let's hug again.We'll hug at nine.We'll hug at ten. When is it time for a hug? Anytime! This feel-good picture book assures kids there's plenty of love to go around-the-clock.From the moment Little Bunny wakes up in the morning until the moon comes out and the stars shine, every hour includes a warm hug from Big Bunny. Whether they bake or build, bike or hike, a caring hug always feels just right.This is a book that is generous with love, and full of the sweetest illustrations you've ever seen.

Board Book

First published January 3, 2012

7 people are currently reading
278 people want to read

About the author

Phillis Gershator

64 books20 followers

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5 stars
263 (41%)
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210 (32%)
3 stars
145 (22%)
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18 (2%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews
Profile Image for Abigail.
7,887 reviews251 followers
September 7, 2019
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 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.
Profile Image for Allie.
60 reviews5 followers
January 24, 2023
An extremely adorable book. So colorful and sweet!! Just a cute rundown of the activities a little bunny and a mama bunny do over the course of a day.
It’s great for encouraging reading time for young toddlers especially as it’s easy to incorporate physical actions with the rhythm and the repeated “What time is it? Time for a hug!” I always gave my toddler a hug every time the book says it while she was sitting on my lap for the story.

It’s also a great introduction to the concept of time/reading clocks and counting and I liked the format of the entire day’s structure.
Profile Image for Bronwyn.
909 reviews73 followers
December 13, 2018
Really sweet little book, good rhymes. My son loves the hugs. :)

(Don’t know the exact date/s I read this, but we’ve read it multiple times in the last month.)
350 reviews1 follower
August 7, 2020
A tale of physical intimacy that's set to the tune of Bill Haley's Rock Around the Clock.
Profile Image for Lagobond.
487 reviews
May 4, 2022
Once upon a time I had a teacher who would check the clock every once in a while to keep track of the lesson's progress, and each time she would loudly proclaim: "What time is it? AWESOMETIME!" This always served to perk everyone up, and it is a saying in my household to this day.

I'm very much reminded of my teacher in this friendly book. Momma bunny and her child go through their day together, recounting their various enjoyable activities as they keep track of the hours passing by. And every now and then comes the cheerful refrain: "What time is it? Time for a hug!" What a lovely reminder to take a few moments out of our day for hugs, just because.

Everything about this book makes me smile. The illustrations are beyond cute. The language is light and chipper and flows well. The rhymes feel pleasant and natural, not forced or formulaic. There's so much love between mom and child, and it's obvious they're really enjoying each other's company. I bet there are quite a few homes where the refrain will become part of the family vernacular: What time is it? Time for a hug!
Profile Image for Julia Smith.
60 reviews8 followers
March 27, 2019
This is the third/final and most sentimental book in our family's bedtime routine (thanks to our friends Annie and Marc, who gifted it to us). The book is a sweet, simple one that follows parent bunny* and a kid bunny along their day. As the story moves from morning to night with a simple rhyming rhythm (and presumably helps teach a kid to tell time using an analog clock), the bunnies joyfully return to an easy refrain: "What time is it? Time for a hug!"**

*While I initially read the book as gender-neutral (or gender-liberated, as adrienne maree brown might say), you could definitely argue that the illustrations show a "traditional" papa bunny, who appears only in a family portrait, with mama and baby bunny as all-day-and-night sidekicks.

**And if you're assuming that I'm *that* #MeToo-era parent who cheerfully interjects "If everyone feels like it!" or "If everyone agrees!" every other night or so...you are right.
Profile Image for DivaDiane SM.
1,176 reviews117 followers
September 21, 2014
My son chose this as one of his prizes for the summer reading program at the American Library in Paris. It is a lovely book. Perhaps geared more toward 3 and 4 year olds (mine is 5) but he enjoyed it very much all the same. The rhymes are good and the idea of stopping for hugs throughout the day is very sweet. The concept of time and that we do certain things at certain times of the day is introduced very well. The illustrations are wonderful.
Profile Image for Danica Midlil.
1,801 reviews32 followers
June 1, 2016
"What time does the clock say?" I hear this from my toddler son all day long, so this book is perfect for sharing about all the activities of a day and the times reflected on the clock faces around our house.
I was wondering why it was never time for Daddy to come home...
Profile Image for Carol Harlow.
105 reviews42 followers
January 5, 2012
This is such a sweet book! I love the pictures, the little bunnies are so huggable! This is a perfect book to snuggle and read with a little one before bed.
50 reviews
April 18, 2018
This is a very cute simple picture book about the momma rabbit and baby rabbit and what they do throughout their day. It is a rhyming book and therefore I think it would be a great addition to the classroom for beginning readers. The text and illustrations are simple and not too distracting making this a quick reader. You can see the love in this story that the mother are baby have as they get up in the morning, do their morning routine, play and then finish up the day with an evening routine and bed. All throughout the day they give each other hugs. There is also clocks in this story, so when connecting it to math this could be a story that is used when telling time.
Profile Image for Joanna.
558 reviews9 followers
October 4, 2021
A very fun book in verse about things you and your kiddo might do throughout the day (including important morning and bedtime routines!), but they always make time for a hug! I love it so much, not only because it’s fun and cute, but because it also tells us that in the midst of the chaotic schedule of a child (even when “schedule” is very loosely used) that we should always make time to slow down and give a hug (or a kiss or another sign of affection).
Profile Image for Shaniah.
40 reviews1 follower
September 17, 2018
Time for a Hug is a sweet picture book fitting for younger children. The illustrations are cute and the meaning is very sweet. This book falls under the genre of Picture Book and I would use this book in my classroom for up to the second grade. The illustrations and story is geared towards younger children, but the message can be for anyone. No matter the time, you can always have a hug.
Profile Image for Patricia Campos.
39 reviews2 followers
July 8, 2025
El libro nos encanta pero la traducción es PENOSA. Fatal. Inventada en la mayor parte. Y muy confuso en muchas partes, sobre todo en la frase más repetida del libro “Abrazos de oso”, perdona?? Son conejos, no osos… y en la versión original solo dice “Tiempo de un abrazo”.
Traducción en español muy muy mala.
Profile Image for Jo Oehrlein.
6,361 reviews9 followers
June 4, 2018
Cute book that walks a bunny family through the day talking about what happens at different times and saying that multiple times are time for a hug.

Shows analog clock faces on each page, integrated into the illustration.
Profile Image for Kimberly.
677 reviews32 followers
March 13, 2025
A fun, sweet rhyming book! About a parent and child bunny spending a day together! Of course, there's lots of opportunities to hug throughout.

There are clocks on almost every page that would be fun to talk about with lessons on how to read analog clocks!
652 reviews
April 8, 2018
A great little book about getting hugs at all different times of the day. It's always a good time for a hug.
585 reviews2 followers
August 8, 2019
Such a sweet read-aloud - this has been both a great bedtime read and a great cheer-up-a-cranky-toddler read.
Profile Image for Kathleen.
1,396 reviews8 followers
June 28, 2020
For some it's 5:00 somewhere...for others...it's always time for a hug. Morning, noon and night. Enjoy as mama bunny and baby bunny play, read, eat...and hug.
Profile Image for Thomas.
277 reviews4 followers
January 1, 2023
ATY 2023: light book
52 Book Club 2023: under 200 pages
Pros: sweet, loving and cute pictures
Cons: none really
Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews

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