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Hugsby, by Dow Phumiruk

I can’t declare it to be a terribly original story. It pretty much mirrored one of the other books in my pile that I read a few minutes later. The twist in this one is that the all the kids in the story have pet monsters instead of ordinary pets. As Pet Monster Show-and-Tell day approaches, our main character is terribly worried that she is unable to teacher her beloved monster any tricks to show off. Her anxiety builds when the other students’ pets exhibit a wide range of talents, and she doesn’t know what to say about her own friend. Seeing her distress, Hugsby offers a hug right when she needs it, which she declares is his special gift before he offers hugs to the whole class. The saving grace of this one is the way kids will be able to extrapolate to the feelings so many of us have at times, thinking we don’t have any special talents that compare to those around us, and the way it reminds us to appreciate the simple talents like giving good hugs.