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A Hug Is for Holding Me: A Picture Book
A picture book celebrating the power of hugs from award-winning creators, author Lisa Wheeler and illustrator Lisk Feng
A Hug Is for Holding Me is a sweet, cozy book about love and affection and invites children to engage with the natural world in a fresh, new way. Some hugs are tight and some hugs are snug . . . but guess who gives the BEST hugs?
“Feng’s artwork is lovely, stylized flora and fauna filling the pages, and the love between the two is evident.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Using allusions to nature, Wheeler writes lyrically about what a hug can be . . . Detailed art by Feng has a retro feel. The ornament-like abundance of insects, flowers, and other natural objects brushes this familial journey with magic.” — Publishers Weekly
A Hug Is for Holding Me is a sweet, cozy book about love and affection and invites children to engage with the natural world in a fresh, new way. Some hugs are tight and some hugs are snug . . . but guess who gives the BEST hugs?
“Feng’s artwork is lovely, stylized flora and fauna filling the pages, and the love between the two is evident.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Using allusions to nature, Wheeler writes lyrically about what a hug can be . . . Detailed art by Feng has a retro feel. The ornament-like abundance of insects, flowers, and other natural objects brushes this familial journey with magic.” — Publishers Weekly
24 pages, Hardcover
Published December 11, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
December 26, 2018
A simple, poetic text celebrating hugs of all kinds is paired with colorful, cute illustrations in A Hug Is for Holding Me. The narrator here, presumably the little girl in the artwork, describes a number of natural things - eggs, cocoons, a flower bud, a seashell - as hugs that envelop other things, comparing each in turn to the hugs she is given by her father, also seen in the artwork...
Although I found the premise here interesting, somehow the end product just didn't impress me that much. The artwork from expatriate Chinese illustrator Lisk Feng is lovely - this is the first book I have read to feature her work - but the text is a little muddled. Looking at the protective, embracing nature of various objects in the natural world, and comparing them to hugs, strikes me as a promising idea. The tie-back to the hugs the girl-narrator herself experiences also seems like a good idea, but somehow the two didn't quite work for me, when paired together. This is one of those picture-books that is better in conception than in execution, and doesn't quite succeed, either as an ecologically-themed title or as a reassurance tale.
Although I found the premise here interesting, somehow the end product just didn't impress me that much. The artwork from expatriate Chinese illustrator Lisk Feng is lovely - this is the first book I have read to feature her work - but the text is a little muddled. Looking at the protective, embracing nature of various objects in the natural world, and comparing them to hugs, strikes me as a promising idea. The tie-back to the hugs the girl-narrator herself experiences also seems like a good idea, but somehow the two didn't quite work for me, when paired together. This is one of those picture-books that is better in conception than in execution, and doesn't quite succeed, either as an ecologically-themed title or as a reassurance tale.
January 29, 2019
First sentence: Look around and you will see all the things a hug can be!
Premise/plot: You would think this picture book would celebrate two things primarily--HUGS and FAMILIES. And, in a way, I suppose it's true. But it is nature that sneaks in and steals the show.
Cocoons are strong
yet gentle hugs,
and then,
surprisingly...
the air is filled with wonderous wings!
Your hug amazes me.
and
A flower bud
can be a hug.
Come close and
you will see.
Tight petals wrap the bloom inside.
Your hug feels safe to me.
My thoughts: I don't dislike this one. I just don't love it. I wasn't expecting it to be about nature. Or at least so much about nature. I suppose a better description would be... as a father and daughter share a lovely walk together the little girl reflects on the many things a hug can be.
Text: 3 out of 5
Illustrations: 3 out of 5
Total: 6 out of 10
Premise/plot: You would think this picture book would celebrate two things primarily--HUGS and FAMILIES. And, in a way, I suppose it's true. But it is nature that sneaks in and steals the show.
Cocoons are strong
yet gentle hugs,
and then,
surprisingly...
the air is filled with wonderous wings!
Your hug amazes me.
and
A flower bud
can be a hug.
Come close and
you will see.
Tight petals wrap the bloom inside.
Your hug feels safe to me.
My thoughts: I don't dislike this one. I just don't love it. I wasn't expecting it to be about nature. Or at least so much about nature. I suppose a better description would be... as a father and daughter share a lovely walk together the little girl reflects on the many things a hug can be.
Text: 3 out of 5
Illustrations: 3 out of 5
Total: 6 out of 10
February 4, 2019
Beautiful pictures and beautiful storybook.
November 14, 2022
Cute love story for Valentine's Day storytime. Could be good for a general storytime about love that encourages children and grown-ups to snuggle up together. It would also be good for an outside storytime to point to different things.
November 5, 2018
A Hug is for Holding Me by Lisa Wheeler, illustrated by Lisk Feng. PICTURE BOOK. Abrams Appleseed, 2018. $15. 9781419728266
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K, EL (K-3) - OPTIONAL.
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
A little girl and her dad are walking in nature and discussing what a hug feels like and what elements of nature resemble a hug - a bird’s egg, a cocoon, a flower bud. They use each element to explain how a hug feels.
The illustrations in this book are very sweet and the text is soothing. It feels like a lullaby and would be an excellent choice for a simple good night read. It could potentially be used in the classroom to talk about metaphors.
Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher
https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com/20...
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K, EL (K-3) - OPTIONAL.
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
A little girl and her dad are walking in nature and discussing what a hug feels like and what elements of nature resemble a hug - a bird’s egg, a cocoon, a flower bud. They use each element to explain how a hug feels.
The illustrations in this book are very sweet and the text is soothing. It feels like a lullaby and would be an excellent choice for a simple good night read. It could potentially be used in the classroom to talk about metaphors.
Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher
https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com/20...
March 10, 2026
Genre: Children's Realistic Fiction
Grade Range: PreK-Kindergarten
This book was pretty good and a very easy read. I thought this book was good because it gently celebrated love and affection. The story used compassion to nature to show how a hug can feel safe and comforting. I liked the detailed illustrations because they made moments between characters that much more special and inviting. I think it's a good book for younger kids because it helps them think about feelings, family, and how simple acts can mean a lot.
Grade Range: PreK-Kindergarten
This book was pretty good and a very easy read. I thought this book was good because it gently celebrated love and affection. The story used compassion to nature to show how a hug can feel safe and comforting. I liked the detailed illustrations because they made moments between characters that much more special and inviting. I think it's a good book for younger kids because it helps them think about feelings, family, and how simple acts can mean a lot.
February 28, 2019
Compares items in nature with human hugs (from father) and the feelings they produce. For example, an egg "holds hatchlings warm and close, your hug is holding me." Simple text and colorful illustrations.
Tie-in with Valentine's Day, and father/child events. Appropriate for lower elementary. Best for read-aloud; children will not likely choose it on their own, nor grasp unassisted the connection between the natural world's "hugs" and human hugs.
Tie-in with Valentine's Day, and father/child events. Appropriate for lower elementary. Best for read-aloud; children will not likely choose it on their own, nor grasp unassisted the connection between the natural world's "hugs" and human hugs.
June 21, 2019
This book is a beautiful poem with lovely nature metaphors for hugs throughout, that is a great bedtime read for your little one.
Lisk Feng’s illustrations are, as always, so stunning, and perfectly capture the feel of the words. I particularity love the pairing of a father and daughter in the pictures, as it’s a relationship we don’t often see let alone in such a sweet and loving light.
Would fully recommend!
Lisk Feng’s illustrations are, as always, so stunning, and perfectly capture the feel of the words. I particularity love the pairing of a father and daughter in the pictures, as it’s a relationship we don’t often see let alone in such a sweet and loving light.
Would fully recommend!
February 17, 2023
One of our selected Valentine's Day books this year, which follows and Father and Daughter relationship as they walk through nature. Wallace always loves books about the natural world and all of its curiosities and wonders, so this falls into that category, and I love the enveloping, cozy theme, however it's a bit simple for his current reading taste. A lullaby perhaps, or a nice book to sing or wind down with.
October 14, 2018
This beautifully written and illustrated book is the perfect "lap" book that when read will definitely inspire lots of hugs. It is such a great way to show how different types of hugs in nature serve different purposes. Your little ones will love turning the pages to find the various hugs and I'm sure this book will motivate them to go out and look for more (after you get your hug of course).
February 21, 2019
I get what the book/text is *trying* to be, but I'm not sure it actually gets there. The comparisons are a bit of a stretch at times, even if I can see where it's going.
The artwork is lovely, if a bit busy, and overall I really like the idea of the book, even though I'm not completely sold on the execution.
The artwork is lovely, if a bit busy, and overall I really like the idea of the book, even though I'm not completely sold on the execution.
July 17, 2019
This is a sweet story for young readers and brings a new perspective to what a hug can be and mean to others. The illustrations have bright and vibrate colors throughout the book and the way the book was printed makes it seem somewhat retro. I appreciate the purpose of this book though I wish there was more story development.
February 26, 2019
A rhyming book about how some things in nature (eggs, cocoons, sea shells) are like hugs for the animals inside them. As a dad and daughter walk through nature looking at its wonders, they describe all the wonderful things a hug can be.
February 27, 2019
A lovely poetic book. Illustrations are warm and soothing. Beautiful they are , the texts and image sometimes feels a bit off. As the main theme is hug, in a few pages I have to wonder for a while to get where the hug is. The two coupled in a sort of stretchy way.
September 9, 2019
The only saving grace of this book is that the illustrations are adorable. I was disappointed in the writing considering that Lisa Wheeler wrote one of our favorite books of all time, Jazz Baby. No flow to the writing style despite it trying to rhyme. Skip this book.
February 3, 2020
I thought this book was super cute and would be really sweet to read around Valentines Day. The imaged in this book were beautiful and took up pretty much both pages of the book. The text was written nice and bold on the page in a blank space where the image surrounded it.
June 7, 2025
This was okay. There wasn't really any substance to the plot. I liked the nature pictures, especially the underwater ocean scene, but the illustrations of the people with heads too small for their bodies were unappealing to me.
September 8, 2018
All the things a hug can be.
This book would pair well with Liz Garton Scanlon's A Sock is a Pocket for Your Toes.
This book would pair well with Liz Garton Scanlon's A Sock is a Pocket for Your Toes.
October 10, 2018
Hugs of all kinds. Lovely, stylized illustrations.
December 11, 2018
A colourfully illustrated lyrical story about different types of hugs, such as eggs safe in a nest, that a little girl discovers as she is walking with her daddy. She likes his hugs best.
December 12, 2018
Sweet but forgettable
December 26, 2018
Wonderfully sweet little book introduces how many hugs there are in the natural world. The wonderful illustrations bring to mind picture books of the 1970s.
January 15, 2019
Quick, light, beautiful story.
January 18, 2019
I loved all the connections to the natural world and I even didn't mind circling back to what all the different hugs can mean to humans.
January 25, 2019
A sweet story about hugs of all kinds. I am going to pair it with the story Hugs and Kisses for a Valentine story time.
April 6, 2019
Sweet, but surprisingly short and spare. I appreciate what the author is trying to do in talking about “hugs” in nature, but the execution falls a bit short.
May 1, 2019
We enjoyed this as we are huggers! Was expecting more of a story on humans interacting with one another but it was nice to see the care for nature.
May 13, 2019
Picture book celebrating the loving support of hugs
July 3, 2019
7/3/19 Read with Julia
August 27, 2019
the love of a parent and a child expressed through words about hugging and other creatures and scences from nature that look like hugs. preschool and up
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews