Hugless Douglas by David Melling (Hodder Children's Books)

I'm not really sure how David Melling's books have managed to pass us by for so long. He's a bit of a Twitter star at the moment and seeing his tweeted drawings made me want to search out this book in particular. Hugless Douglas is the tale of a slightly dozy but extremely loveable bear who goes off in search of a hug one morning. Can he hug an owl? Can he hug a rock? A tree? Some sheep?

Unfulfilled, poor Douglas searches in vain for the perfect hug. But we all know where the best hugs come from, don't we?

Melling is that rare example of a children's writer who nails both the illustrations and the story perfectly (in fact I'm ridiculously envious of his drawing style, such simple little lines that convey such a huge range of expressions and emotions).

So glad we finally found Douglas!

Charlotte's best bit: Douglas with a sheep stuck to his bottom!

Daddy's favourite bit: Now that's a neat place to keep your breakfast cutlery!

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars