It isn't often one finds 'a slug needing someone to hug', but so it is in this wonderfully wacky picture book with lots and lots of animals getting together for a group hug. Whether they are feeling grumpy or depressed, too busy or prickly, forgotten or sneaky, or lonely and out of luck, they all need a hug. Besides the slug, we meet: a beetle, a mouse, a skunk and a squirrel (who are miserable because of the skunk's smell), a beaver, a porcupine (who must shed his quills for the hug), a groundhog, a goose, a fox and a moose. 'The group hug stretched wide, the group hug stretched tall, making plenty of room for those antlers and all.' Everyone is enjoying the hugs enormously until along comes a bear! They scatter to the four winds at that point, leaving only the slug to give the bear his hug, the slug understanding that 'the hugger finds happy as much as the hugged: Heart Tug!' The final picture shows us Bear along with everyone else enjoying a huge group hug. Lovely colours and charming animals make us want to hug them all too. Wonderfully appropriate at this time when hugs are few and far between, it will stay relevant for years to come as a lovely story about the need for hugs whenever we are feeling lonely or sad.