Hug It Out!

by Louis Thomas

A fresh, funny take on sibling rivalry and conflict resolution, as two sparring siblings are forced to "hug it out."

Mom has had enough of Woody and Annie's incessant fighting. When her pleas for sharing and apologizing are ignored, she demands they "hug it out." At first, the warring siblings are confused. Hugging? But after a long afternoon of forced embraces, the brother and sister decide to call a truce to avoid yet another icky hug. However it doesn't take long for them to miss that newfound closeness. And soon they're looking for something to fight about so they can hug it out once more!

Adults will delight in a new solution to conflict, while kids will enjoy yelling "HUG IT OUT!" at each familiar situation. With subversive humor and smart, eye-catching illustrations, Louis Thomas's debut is a cheeky tribute to sibling rivalry and (cuddly) compromise.

Genres: Picture Books, Family, Childrens, Storytime, Humor

40 pages, Hardcover

Published January 3, 2017

About the author

sieur de de Cahbert Joncaire

Reviews

[Baby Bookworm · Rating 2 out of 5]

This review was originally written for The Baby Bookworm. Visit us for new picture books reviews daily!

Hello, friends! Our book today is Hug It Out! by Louis Thomas, a tale of sibling rivalry and love.

Woody and Annie have been fighting all afternoon, and their mother has had enough. So she implements a new punishment: whenever they argue, they must “hug it out” until they calm down. And sure enough, after every disagreement, name called, or hair tugged, their mother’s voice rings, “Hug it out!” After hours of hugging, the pair are happy to avoid each other rather than endure another forced embrace. But once they separate, the siblings find that they miss each other. Perhaps another hug wouldn’t be the worst…

This book definitely had a very relatable theme. Most siblings, or parents of siblings, will easily recognize the love-hate dynamic that Woody and Annie share, and the resolution of their story felt very organic. The illustrations were very cute, with the pen-and-watercolor art striking a good balance of visual appeal for little ones while adding some humor for adults (the siblings’ increasingly exasperated mother is a relatable character indeed). My only complaint runs along the lines of the forced hugging, which is played for laughs here. While most would consider this a reasonable punishment, others may feel uncomfortable with the idea of forcing children to sustain physical contact against their consent. It would definitely be a judgement call for the reader. Otherwise, it had a good length, but JJ wasn’t overly jazzed about it. But it’s a fine book that older bookworms, especially those with siblings, may enjoy more, so we will call this one Baby Bookworm approved overall.

Be sure to check out The Baby Bookworm for more reviews!

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Woody and Annie were the epitome of sibling rivalry, and being stuck inside on a rainy Sunday afternoon didn't help any. With all the bickering, teasing, kicking, tattling, and fighting left their mother with only one sure way solve their problems. They were forced to HUG IT OUT! All the hugging led both Woody and Annie to compromise to avoid the hugging, and becoming flat as a pancake. What happens next is an amazing thing.

[Vivian · Rating 2 out of 5]

The cover art and title induced high hopes, which (sigh) were not realized.
Scenario: siblings wanting to play with same toys. (Sound familiar?)
Mom strategy numero uno -- you kids need to share. (kids pinky swear they will)
Problem with sharing strategy -- who is going to monitor the "fairness" factor?
Now, here is my real gripe with the story: the kids start name calling, and even though the names used are very mild on the name calling scale it is my experience that kids WILL TEST DRIVE any new name calling vocabulary. My solution: I did not read aloud the name calling, inserting "said something hurtful" instead.
Mom strategy numero dos -- you kids need to apologize to each other.
My next real gripe with the story: the kids start KICKING each other. In my house KICKING is an absolute NO/NEVER. I don't appreciate it being suggested in a picture book.
Mom strategy numero tres -- their ultimate punishment is that they now have to hug each other (full double page spread expressions of horror on children's faces)
Ten pages of hugging ensue.
After which they tandem play.
After which they play together.
After which they conceede that they enjoy hugging (on their own terms).

[دعاء الدريس · Rating 3 out of 5]

الكتاب مضحك وممتع عن علاقة الأخوة والعراك بينهم، ولدي أحبها كثيرا لأنها تترجم واقع فعلي يعيشونه في الخلافات الكثيرة مع أخيه.

لكن وجب التنبيه أنه يجب محاورة الطفل وبيان أهمية الاحتضان بين الأخوان، وأنا نحب الاحتضان حتى بدون اعتذار للآخر وتكون وسيلة للتعبير عن الحب في كل وقت، وأن إجبار الاحتضان في القصة ما هو إلا من باب المزاح والضحك
ويجب أن يفهم الطفل بشكل عام أن لا يحق لأحد أن يجبره على أي نوع من التلامس مع الناس، وأن يحق له أن يرفض إذا كان لا يريد تقديم قبلة أو حضن أو أي كان،
هذا جزء من التربية الجنسية حتى يشعر أطفالنا بأن لهم القوة والثقة برفض اللمسات غير المريحة لهم

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

The illustrations are colorful with a watercolor cartoon style, but the story was just okay to me. I liked the concept of hugging it out when there is a conflict (I think more people should do this along with talking about the problem), but to me, I didn't really like how it ended. I understand why it ended the way it ended, but personally, I would have gone with a different ending.

Otherwise, it's an okay story about sibling rivalry and conflict and how they fixed it in the end.

[Chelsie Howerton · Rating 4 out of 5]

SUMMARY
Woody and Annie are siblings who can't seem to get along during an afternoon of play. Their mom finally implements a new consequence for fighting: Hug it out! Woody and Annie learn about the value of alone time, and each other.

ACTIVITY
Materials:
Each student will need:
- Paper (8.5x11 or larger, folded/divided in half, for drawing two pictures)
- Coloring materials (markers, crayons, colored pencils)

Before reading:
Ask students to brainstorm a time at school or at home when they had a disagreement with a friend, classmate, or sibling. They should keep this in their brains until after the story.

After reading:
Remembering the time they just brainstormed, ask students to draw the event on the left, and how they (or someone else) resolved the disagreement on the right. Students can then share their stories with the class or in pairs/groups. As a class, discuss strategies for resolving conflicts in the classroom, lunch room, playground, etc. These may also be written for an anchor chart in the classroom.

CITATION
Thomas, L. (2017). Hug it out! New York, NY: Farrar Straus Giroux.

[Alyssa Tate · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a good lesson for children I think. Through Woody and Annies arguing they learned how to share through the Hug It Out method their mom made them do. In the end it shows that they learned to not only play on their own, but figured out a way to both share the car. This can show children that there is no need to fight, but both people can take turns and learn to share their toys.

[Earl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A silly tale of sibling rivalry fun for group read-alouds. At first, I thought the punishment was the mom would tie their hair together but it's actually quite nicer than that and something that we could all use to solve our problems.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two siblings, Woody and Annie, start fighting relentlessly and their mom makes them start hugging after their arguments. When the two children get so sick of fighting and hugging it out, they take a break from each other and eventually find out they miss each other.

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mom teaches the kids a great lesson through "hugging it out!" illustrations are not my favorite but the typical story between a brother and a sister an how the mom has to try to creative ways to keep them friends is great.

[Sheri · Rating 3 out of 5]

A family with squabbling siblings and a frustrated parent, how unique. This brother and sister have a disagreement and mother has a solution. Would have liked the children to solve their own problem but it seems they tried sharing but circled back to Mom.

[Carly Casassa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mom has are tired of of Woody and Annie's constant fighting. When her orders for sharing and apologizing are ignored, she demands they "hug it out." Shows the relationship between siblings might not always be fun and games but at the end of the day they have each other.

[Kit Feral · Rating 3 out of 5]

This made me laugh a lot and I liked the art. However I'm not too into the forced hugging in reality and I also have to say as someone with actual children this age I don't think for a minute this would work.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had promise, but it taught my newly 3 year old daughter to constantly say “you dumb dumb”. I skipped it after the first time I read the story but it stuck it in her mind. The book would’ve been great had it not involved the name calling and physical fighting.

[Jocelyn Brame · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the subplot with the cat.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very nice way of getting siblings to stop fighting. Good book to share during story time about sharing. This really reminds me of myself and my brother when we were younger.

[Helaina Storie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one the ways I got the kids to stop fighting, it really works!!

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book for parents?
Fun drawings that parents will relate to.

[Lkking · Rating 4 out of 5]

At her wit's end with her children's fighting, the mom requires them to "hug it out!" whenever they come to her with a problem - the kids' expressions at this new "punishment" are great.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

So cute and very realistic. I tell my kids I'm going to get a "get a long shirt" for them. This is a great alternative!

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute way to work out problems and see that stopping and calming down allows you to get along better than you might think.

[Deanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent method and message.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This preschool and up book features a pair of sibling who can't seem to get along until mom tells them they have to hug out every problem. Cute ending

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe naive. Too wordy in some places and then hardly any words in others, so not evenly spaced I guess. But still a valuable lesson, and the cat and mouse in the background is funny.

[Cristina Quattrone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute concept, didn’t love the name-calling

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was...good...but a little odd. I feel like this book might not be a hit for kids, but their parent will really like it.

[Kaitlyn Shoemaker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book is great for early primary grades and primary grades, informational nonfiction. I am someone who really likes hugs, so I really loved this book. But I think anyone with siblings should read this book. Life is always better when you get along with your brother or sister and this book does a really great job of incorporating friendly reminders and encouraging ways to stay close with your siblings,and what to do when you are fighting with your siblings.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two children, possibly twins, have trouble sharing with one another. When their mother has had enough with their bickering, she tells them to "hug it out." After hugging it out for a while, the children go about their own devices only to find that they miss hugging each other and decide to do it again. The story is enjoyable. The family reflects a homogeneous culture with a stay-at-home mom and absent father.

[Susan Schuler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious! So happy my mom didn't think of this...

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Big-eyed siblings quarrel and make up.