Sloppy Wants a Hug

by Sean Julian

Overview

2018 Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year

Sloppy the tree dragon wants a hug, but Dewdrop the sprite isn’t going to give him one, for a very good reason.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780735842731
Publisher:	NorthSouth Books
Publication date:	02/07/2017
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.70(w) x 10.40(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD480L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Sean Julian enjoyed art from an early age, focusing on potato printmaking and creating plasticine dinosaurs. He now focuses his talents on children’s book illustrations, where he can follow his passion to draw hairy gorillas, bears, and dinosaurs. His pictures delight and entertain. He lives in Bristol, England.

Editorial Reviews

Pacing is everything here as audiences are lulled into sympathy with the hugless dragon until the very last page. Mournful Sloppy, with his eggplant-shaped snout, barely-there mouth, and scales that look like tidy, distinct green leaves, initially doesn’t seem to have earned his name, looking more floppy than sloppy as his sadness deepens. Dewdrop is an effective and expressive targeted snubber, turning up her pert little nose and angling her eyebrows at Sloppy as he tries to get a hug and smiling sweetly at the other critters.

The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

02/01/2017
PreS-Gr 1—No matter how politely he asks, Dewdrop, a sprite, will not give Sloppy, a tree dragon, a hug. This makes Sloppy very sad, especially when he sees Dewdrop giving hugs to the other animals. Gifts and coercion will not convince her to change her mind. Discouraged, Sloppy sits under a tree to pout. While he is there, a baby bird falls out of its nest. Sloppy willingly helps the little bird, warming Dewdrop's heart. She decides then to give Sloppy a big hug and soon remembers why it was not such a good idea in the first place. Set in a whimsical forest full of adorable little woodland creatures, this title is quirky and sweet. Brief and straightforward, the text is appropriate as a read-aloud or read-alone. The font is large and easy to read, and the illustrations are cheerful and inviting. The expressions on the characters' faces are spot on and will tug on readers' heartstrings. Throughout, young children might think that Dewdrop is just being mean, but they may have a change of heart at the amusing culmination of the tale. VERDICT An uncomplicated selection that will make everyone smile. Perfect for lapsits or small group reads.—Amy Shepherd, St. Anne's Episcopal School, Middleton, DE

School Library Journal

2016-12-06
Dewdrop the fairy is willing to give every forest creature a hug—except for Sloppy the tree dragon. What has Sloppy done? His name provides a clue, but Julian holds off on a direct answer until the end. Until then, Sloppy's repeated pleas ("Why not?") only earn stern refusals from the light-skinned, dragonfly-winged fairy: "You know why not." Looking less like a conventional dragon than a sort of winged kangaroo covered in leaves, Sloppy cuts a decidedly fetching figure throughout—but neither pretending to be sad nor bringing homely presents like flowers or a big rock moves the angry urchin. So pitiable is Sloppy that readers will be mystified on his behalf. At last Dewdrop relents after seeing the sulky dragon kindly return a fallen baby bird to its nest…and is thereupon reminded what caused the rift in the first place, as Sloppy follows their makeup hug with a big, ultraslobbery lick. "Yuck!" In addition to giving Sloppy and Dewdrop a comfortable-looking forest to share with many agreeable friends, Julian displays a wry sense of humor in both Sloppy's expressive body language and his considerate translations of the little bird's dialogue, rendering all-purpose "Tweet"s as both "Help!" and "Thank you, Sloppy!" Short, simple, sweet—and more than likely to spur some similarly slobbery affection between parent and child. (Picture book. 2-4)

Kirkus Reviews

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