A picture book based on the seldom-discussed Cactaceae, Cactus Wants a Hug by
Neil Flory is an unexpectedly sensitive story of a cactus in search for companionship
and some love. Doesn’t everyone want that?
Our Cactus too wanders out of his desert abode looking for a hug. He is lonely but
doesn’t realize his prickly existence is a big obstacle. His yearning takes him on a
journey of exploration and curious encounters: a balloon is a little chary because
they’ve ‘just met’, but finally gives in to the cactus’s request for a hug only to his own
Peril.
Ay Caramba!
A friendly tomato expresses his greeting as a bow but on the cactus’s
insistence hazards a hug. Ay Caramba!
The poor worm meets the same dangerous fate. AY CARAMBA!
Desolate, and almost on the verge of giving up, our Cactus Protagonist finally encounters a hedgehog who too wants a ‘smooshy wooshy’ hug!
There is someone for everyone, after all.
Illustrations by Simon Yeo are bold, expressive, and a visual delight. Colourful repetitions of Ay Caramba make for engaging rhythm, and add spice to this spiky tale with its eternal theme of our wistful longing for love, mirrored in the bittersweet
experiences of the cactus.
Life experiences of young humans are mirrored in the prickly encounters of our lonely cactus. And the book closes on the reminder that despite all the vulnerabilities we cannot help but carry — there’s always hope for an unexpected hug!
By: by Neil Flory (illustrated by Simon Yeo)
