Waffles and Julius No Hugs Please!

Waffles is a dog. Julius is a cat. Waffles is a dog who wants give you a hug. Cats must love hugs, surely? Well perhaps not. Waffles tries everything until both he and Julius are exhausted. Time for a snooze… Waffles is a furry comfortable dog. A dog that would make a good pillow… Maybe, Waffles does get his wish and perhaps, Julius gets a hug

Ed Vere is the master at packing humour into his illustrations.  His images are bold and uncluttered. The focus is on the characters – in this case Waffles and Julius – and their emotions. There is no doubt what each feels conveyed through Vere’s vigorous lines together with his brilliance in facial expressions. The text is pared back to the minimum. There is no need for any extraneous description; it is all there in the images which fill each double spread. Even the colour palette is stripped back; Waffles and Julius stand out against plain colour saturated backgrounds. There is action and a smile on every page – including that final one. Julius may not like a hug, but who gets the last laugh? This a picture book to enjoy and read – with plenty of expression – again and aga