Synopsis
An irresistible puppy collects kisses from every animal he meets, but when he returns home, he discovers that the best kiss of all is the one he gets from his loving mother. Full color.
Publishers Weekly
This homage to affection from a French team stars Hugs, a farm puppy who is on a mission to find out which animal delivers the best kiss. Each encounter possesses its own distinct characteristics. The horse's delivery, for example, "was a bit damp, of course, and sticky, but it was quite warm." A rabbit's kiss was "a bit wiggley, of course, and quick, but it was quite soft." If the narrative includes a few too many examples and winds up predictably (his mother's kiss is best), Tharlet's paintings carry the volume. Keeping background elements to a minimum, she focuses each of her graceful, gauzy, ink-and-watercolor illustrations on the smooches themselves, which she imagines in endearing vignettes. Hugs rises up on his hind legs to connect with a butterfly and sits blissfully to receive a buss on each cheek from a pair of doting ducks; a comically looming pink sow plants one on the hero's nose. Like a kiss itself, this tale may well be the subject of repeated requests. Ages 3-5. (Jan.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.