This is a fun, light story with adorable illustrations and a good–if somewhat simple–message about kindness and friendship. Carter Goodrich, author and illustrator of Nobody Hugs a Cactus, has designed characters for many films, including Brave, Ratatouille, and Despicable Me. The protagonist in this story–a cactus who loves living alone in peace and quiet–may feel especially relatable to introverts or–going a layer deeper–to those of us who have been wounded by past relationships and now exist with our “prickles out” for protection.
The book begins, “Hank lived in a pot. The pot sat on a window. The window looked out at the empty dessert. It was hot, dry, peaceful, and quiet. Just the way Hank liked it.” Occasionally animals or humans pass by and disrupt his peace with their greetings or unsolicited commentary. Rosie the Tumbleweed cheerfully greets Hank while rolling past his window, as do a tortoise, a jackrabbit (who calls Hank “Prickles”), and a lizard. A coyote tells Hank that he is “as prickly on the inside as [he is] on the outside” and a cowboy senses that Hank needs a hug but laments, “Too bad nobody hugs a cactus.” Hank has a sour comeback for each visitor, which boils to the message: stay away. By the time an owl alights on his roof that evening, however, Hank is beginning to feel a bit differently. He grudgingly offers the owl a hug, which is swiftly declined. The owl flies off with the words, “Whooo…me? [ . . .] You must be joking!” Hank finally begins to feel a little bit lonely. The following day, when a gust of wind sticks a cup to Hank’s face, Rosie comes to the rescue and releases it. Hank doesn’t have a chance to thank her. He starts to think about how mean he’s been to her in the past, so decides to “grow the best flower he [can]” for Rosie and give it to her the next time she drops by, which he does: Rosie is so taken aback by his kind gesture that she jumps up to hug him, and sticks to his face! The story concludes, “It felt so nice, Hank didn’t want to let go. And as things turned out, he couldn’t. Rosie and Hank had become stuck together. But they didn’t care. After all, it’s better to be stuck in a hug than stuck all alone.”
Content: 3.5/5
The book’s message is simple: kindness can make a difference to even the most ornery and private of characters. All the other characters in the book take Hank’s mean words at face value and don’t pursue relationship with him. Rosie’s kindness, however, doesn’t discriminate: even though Hank has rebuffed her kindness many times, she isn’t deterred–she continues to reach out in her own cheerful way, “bouncing” into Hank’s life, again and again. It’s Rosie’s kind gesture of removing the cup from Hank’s face that finally changes Hank’s heart. In fact, her act of kindness inspires his own. For the first time, he turns his attention outward in a gift of self-giving. He grows a flower for Rosie, an act that takes planning, time, effort, and patience.
The book’s message is simple: kindness can make a difference to even the most ornery and private of characters.
The story capitalizes on the power of kindness and unconditional love, which the reader sees expressed through Rosie’s consistent cheerfulness, simple greetings, physical touch, and willingness to help someone even when it seems he doesn’t deserve it.
Design: 4/5
The illustrations in this book are cute and playful. Even though Hank is prickly, Goodrich depicts him in such a way that we can’t help but find him lovable. The color palette consists primarily of browns and tans–shades of the dessert–but there are splashes of color from the beautiful blue sky, Hank’s painted pot, and more.
Style: 3/5
The text is non-rhyming, simple, and unflowery. It features lots of dialogue. Most of the language is colloquial, though a few more descriptive verbs such as “strode”, “loped”, and “skittered” are sprinkled throughout.
Overall: 10.5/15
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Makes me want to read it!☺️ Great review—thank you♥️.