With his overlong arms, wide eyes, and red boots that match his shirt's stripes, the narrator of Scott Campbell's (Zombie in Love) enchanting picture book announces his arrival from a hilltop: "Whoa! Here I come! I am the Hug Machine!"
He hugs his deadpan mother, father and older sister as he explains, "No one can resist my unbelievable hugging. I am the Hug Machine!" The charm of the book lies in the pictures' contrast with the Hug Machine's running commentary. He embraces a policeman, elderly gardener, businessman and musician, who all wear the same straight-man expression as his family members. The Hug Machine demonstrates opposites: "My hugs make the biggest feel small," he says, encircling a tall bear, and "the smallest feel big," as he snuggles a turtle. He hugs soft things (a lamb) and hard things (a large stone). His greatest success comes with a crying baby, who smiles when hugged: "Hug accomplished!" says our hero, as the page turns pink with rays that suggest a flashing light. That success leads to others: a porcupine ("I am so spiky. No one ever hugs me"), for which he dons protective gear, and a blue whale ("Surely I am too big for you to hug"), which requires a ladder. Campbell's blue and green tones for the recipients make the match up with the predominant reds of the Hug Machine's attire seem inevitable.
Campbell ends on a human and humorous note: even Hug Machines need refueling--and also to be hugged. Guaranteed to start a hugging frenzy. --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness