Ever feel like you need a hug, a really big hug from someone? That's how Felipe the young cactus feels, but his family just isn't the touchy-feely kind. Cactuses can be quite prickly sometimes you know . . . and so can Felipe. But he'll be darned if this one pointy issue will hold him back, so one day Felipe sets off on his own to find a friend and just maybe, that long awaited hug. In her debut picture book, Simona Ciraola creates an endearing tale of friendship, beautifully illustrated with buoyant wit and the perfect story to share.
Reviews with the most likes.
This book had such nice reviews that I was really excited about it. Unfortunately I could not understand the hype.
Maybe something was lost in translation.
I generally like children stories to teach valuable lessons and good principles and I did not feel this in this book.
Cleaning and respecting other people space is associated with the bad parents who don't want to hug. It almost feels it was written by a kid who does not want to clean the room.
Felipe gets to know a balloon and it ends in an accident - for obvious reasons a cactus cannot hug a ballon. Everyone blames the cactus, the newspaper claims “cactus attacks balloon, balloon hospitalized, shame for the family”. Again, I miss the moral of this event.
After the accident Felipe runs away (I couldn't think about any better solution to solving a problem), he searches for other families, gets rejected several times until he founds the perfect friend - a stone.
This book it's not teaching that it's ok to be different, does not explain that we should talk about our feelings, validates jumping into conclusions and, above all this, offers running away as a solution to our problems.
I understand this is written as a kid would view the world, and this is why I've adjusted to 2 stars. However, part of our role as a parent should be teaching our kids to deal with feelings and emotions. Stories are an amazing tool to do that but I just can't see myself using this one.
