Time for a Hug

by Phillis Gershator

Traditional Chinese edition of Time for a Hug by Phillis Gershator. In Traditional Chinese. Annotation copyright Tsai Fong Books, Inc. Distributed by Tsai Fong Books, Inc.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Storytime, Love, Animals, Fiction, Family

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 3, 2012

Reviews

[itselv]

hugs are my favorite way of expressing love.

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book and the idea of just stopping during the day to give a hug.

[Allie · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Bronwyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.)

[Rory Toohey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tale of physical intimacy that's set to the tune of Bill Haley's Rock Around the Clock.

[Lagobond · Rating 5 out of 5]

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!

[Julia Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[DivaDiane SM · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Danica Midlil · Rating 4 out of 5]

"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...

[Carol Harlow · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Savannah Kerr · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Joanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

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).

[Shaniah · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Patricia Campos · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

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!

[Annburnett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great little book about getting hugs at all different times of the day. It's always a good time for a hug.

[Lingsze Wong · Rating 5 out of 5]

My toddler loves this book and I love the rhyming.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet book, good for routines and for numbers/telling time

[Deanne Ruedemann · Rating 3 out of 5]

My grandson loves this book and so do I.

[Cheryl Meibos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great message, love the rhythm and rhyme--fun to read with my toddler granddaughter.

[Cyril · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a sweet read-aloud - this has been both a great bedtime read and a great cheer-up-a-cranky-toddler read.

[❂ Ann ❂ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Possibly use it with Charlotte Diamond's Four Hugs a Day. And having an excuse to hug, every other page, is hilarious.

[David H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I quite like this book, but I think it'll be better once my son has the slightest concept of time and clocks beyond that they exist.

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Always time for a hug.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Amy Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this book to my daughter!

[Elizabeth Sweet · Rating 2 out of 5]

4/10 Possible bedtime book, describes a day and inserts hugging throughout the activities. Rhymes

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

ATY 2023: light book
52 Book Club 2023: under 200 pages
Pros: sweet, loving and cute pictures
Cons: none really