Hugs from Pearl

I have a friend that lives a few states away and we always send "hugs" through text. I had read this book a few months back and was captivated by the beautiful illustrations and adorable storyline...I came across this book again a little before Valentine's Day and ordered it to be sent to her house and it turned into a wonderful tradition of book swapping and hugs. A fantastic read for younger children of 6 or 7, to my age of 20, or even my friends age of 50.

I ordered this book after my Librarian friend told me about it. I KNEW that I just had to order it for a very special little girl in my life: my "adopted grand-god-daughter" who is ADHD. To say that she loved it...is an understatement! This book is sweet and helps a child know that even if their little personality is a bit "prickly"...they can find a way to show all of the love and friendship that they long to share.

....and overcoming obstacles in friendships. A very endearing book! It is on my Favorite Books List for sure!!!! I recommend this for every home and every classroom. :)

pages torn out and missing.

What a sweet story for my sweet niece Pearl.

What is a prickly, little porcupine to do about her "hurtful" hugs? This is the dilemma faced by the heroine of "Hugs from Pearl" which is written and illustrated by Paul Schmid. Lovely, pastel-hued illustrations which appeal to both children and adults set the overall gentle tone of this book. The story is simple to understand and very easy to read. The simplicity makes it an ideal book to read at bedtime - there are no adventures to excite little ones and ideal for beginning readers who want to try reading the story themselves or aloud to others.I liked the quiet nature of the story, Pearl's thoughtfulness toward those receiving her hugs, and her application of an observation of roses' thorns in solving her own problem. I did not like the fact that "Hugs from Pearl" made it seem acceptable for Pearl to destroy one of her mom's "special" pillowcases. It would have modeled more appropriate behavior for little ones if Pearl had asked her mother for the pillowcase. "Hugs from Pearl" is a book that can be read to a child from a very early age; there is no need to limit this story to those three years of age or older.I liked "Hugs from Pearl," but I did not love it. This is one book that will be read at bedtime to my grandson, but not one that I foresee his asking for repeated, consecutive readings.

I have a five year old that is pretty picky when it comes to books, but she was riveted by Pearl's dilemma. She's a problem solver just like Pearl and even though she had the answer to Pearl's problem right away it didn't lessen her enjoyment on Pearl's journey to find a way to give hugs without hurting the people she cares about.The illustrations are very nice and uncomplicated. Focusing more on Pearl's facial expressions and emotions than lots of background imagery. I liked that about it. The story is not overly long, and doesn't have a whole lot of words on each page which is nice in that it tells the story in a pleasant and uncomplicated way, much like the illustrations.I've seen a few comments that adults were upset that Pearl uses scissors to cut up her mother's favorite pillow case to make a dress as teaching children to be destructive, and frankly I think those people are just looking for something to pick apart. I don't know about you, but I don't leave scissors lying around for my little one to use so I have no fears that she would do the same, especially since she understands that Pearl didn't do it just to make a dress, but to find a way to soften her quills so that she could give hugs to her friends without hurting them. Since we don't have quills to deal with I am not upset about how Pearl chose to solve her problem.After reading this, this book went directly into her bookshelf, which doesn't happen often. It's one that we will reread often.

Hugs from Pearl By Paul Schmid is a cute little story about a porcupine that loves to give her friends hugs. But she finds that this can be somewhat of a problem because of her quills. Pearl decides to try to remedy this in numerous ways through out the story such as trying to putting pincushions on them, softening them in the tub, and in even more interesting ways. My daughter was quite taken and excited for me to turn to the next page to see what Pearl was going to do next.The story itself is pretty simple and it's perfect for young readers. The illustrations are something a child could have drawn themselves and the pastel colors were a nice touch. A cute little tale that encourages searching for solutions and reasoning skills.This book totally brings up questions and I think encourages discussion about some of the things Pearl was doing and how she was feeling. You can totally ask your child if they've ever felt like Pearl and why. Also you can ask what they did or think they can do about it. This book may not be a must have in every library but I certainly enjoyed it and believe it will be a favorite with my kids and maybe even yours.