Truman Toad and the Quest for the Perfect Hug by Oren Lavie, illustrated by Anke Kuhl

• Publisher: Enchanted Lion
• Publication Date: April 7, 2026
• Reviewed from Edelweiss e-galley
• ISBN: 9781592704590

Truman Toad spends most of his time looking at himself in the mirror and thinking about himself. Then one night, he dreamed of the perfect hug, the loveliest hug he’d ever had. So he set out to find the other half of the hug. He started with his friends. Geri the Giraffe was too long and Sandy the Goldfish was too wet. He started hugging everyone. Too tight, too hard, too soft, painful and funny. But not perfect. Then he advertised in the paper. A long line formed to hug him but none of them were right. When a TV crew showed up to see if he’d found the perfect hug, Truman dropped to the ground in despair, right into the TV reporter, which set off a series of events that led to the perfect hug at long last.

In this German import, Truman is a wonderfully self-centered Toad in the beginning and through the bulk of the book. The hugs are all about him and his definition of perfection, until of course the end. Truman’s epiphany comes in the form of an enormous group hug which leads him to suddenly understand that it’s about more than himself. Don’t miss the gloriously funny Afterword written by Truman himself. The illustrations have the same sense of humor as Truman hops out of bed in his undies, clinks a glass of wine with himself in the mirror, and tries ever so many different hugs. 

A picture book to embrace. Appropriate for ages 3-5.