They searched the grass, through leaves and weeds, they went through the flowers, rocks, and seeds. Finally, they even looked under the bugs, but they couldn’t find any kisses or hugs. Perhaps they were hiding behind the toy car? A hug and a kiss couldn’t have gone that far. There were many toys, and dolls galore, but not what they were both looking for.
Israeli children's books author, Sigal Adler, just keeps adding to her now very impressive number of books for children. Each of her books was written in Hebrew and as they became best sellers in Israel she decided to have them translated into English to benefit an even broader range of children. As always Sigal's rhyming style is delightful. This new book is not only entertaining but also carries messages to those children fortunate enough to read them - or have them read to them. Those who follow Sigal Adler know that she offers a meaningful commentary about the importance of reading and the use of rhyme to bring the love of reading to play in children who are challenged by reading or discouraged about learning to read. ‘Children with dyslexia, for instance, find it much easier to understand words when they rhyme rather than dissecting them into letters and syllables.’
Continuing this successful new series ANNA BANANA, this is Book 2 – Anna Misses Hugs and Kisses. Having met Anna Banana, we now learn more of her personality. “For Granny Anna, this was a special day, her grandson was coming over to stay. She hadn’t seen Joey in quite a while, so, she missed his sweet and lovely smile.’ Anna and Joey spend time together playing, enjoying dinner of soup and ice cream, reading a book – but something was missing: no kisses or hugs from Joey, because he lost them! Together Joey and Anna search for the missing kisses and hugs – in the garden, the trees, the toy box, the beach, the clouds, and even in Joey’s bed. Not finding them anywhere. Joey finally finds both hugs and kisses within himself and warmly shares them with Granny Anna (who never lost her kiss!).
After the story, Sigal supplies an activity for the kids – discovering feelings in a series of warmly posed questions that encourage children think about emotional responses. This is another wonderful children’s book, beautifully written in magical rhyme and related with terrific illustrations, allowing children to learn the concept of talking about feelings. Very Highly Recommended.
Granny Anna was incredibly happy her grandson Joey was coming over to stay. They played all day & had a wonderful evening meal with desert. Granny Anna felt something was missing in their bonding. She knew it was his kisses & hugs. They pretended to look everywhere for them.
Can Joey figure the game out?
I do not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing free books from publishers & authors. Therefore, I am under no obligation to write a positive review, only an honest one.
An awesome book cover, great hand-drawn colored pictures, charming illustrations & proper font & writing style. A very professionally written children’s (preschool/elementary age) rhyming storybook. It was quite easy for me to read/follow from start/finish & never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a great set of unique characters, settings, etc. to keep track of. This could also make another great children’s educational presentation (kisses & hugs), adventure movie, an animated cartoon, or better yet a mini-TV series. There is no doubt in my mind this is an extremely easy rating of 5 stars.
Thank you for the free author; BookSends; Amazon Digital Services LLC.; book Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)
Grandma Anna is so excited. Her grandson Joey is finally coming to visit. They spend the day, playing, reading, and eating. Suddenly, Anna realizes that something is missing. Joey has not given her a hug or a kiss.
They spend the rest of their time together searching everywhere for the missing hug and kiss. Are they hiding in the house, in the garden, at the beach or up in the clouds? Finally Joey realizes where they might be. Can you guess the answer?
The second part of the book is my favorite part. Joey and Grandma play a game. They present the reader with real life situations and talk about the feeling one would experience in each. For example, how does one feel when another child takes your ball and won't return it? Hurt, of course. The author discusses a range of feelings, both positive and negative.
I recommend this book for preschoolers through primary grades. A good choice for parents, teachers and counselors as a platform to discuss emotions.
Love the rhythmic writing to teach about sharing love
I love books by Sigal Adler and Anna Misses Hugs & Kisses is easily one of my favorites. The rhymes are wonderful but simple enough to catch my preschooler's attention. It seems to me that this book was created with lots of love and joy. My preschooler loved the story too and she was actually so involved while I read it to her. She knows where to find her hugs and kisses.
I am a social worker, I know children struggle with finding words for their emotions. This book is an excellent way to teach about emotions in a non- threatening way . I strongly recommend for all kids and their parents to read together and talk about what they are feeling and to name their feelings.
I just read this to my five year old and his exact words when it got to the end was "give it all the stars. I liked that one!" This is the first time he made that comment about a book so five star rating for sure!
A cute book, but with some formatting fixes could be much better. Discusses feelings in a cute way, but only one page can be viewed at a time in the ebook/kindle version which is cumbersome.
A well written, well plotted rhyming story about feelings, how you get them, where they come from and in the end they are your own. Feelings often need to be let out and not just held in – so good to discuss with someone else you trust! The illustrations are just wonderfully delightful!
The rhythms were enjoyable. However, as a parent, I didn't get the flow of the story regarding rhythms transitioning to games about feeling. The story did show the generation of love from grandmother to grandson. How nice.