How to Hug a Cactus by Emily S. Smith

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LJR’s Thoughts on How to Hug a Cactus

This brand new picture book by Emily S. Smith is a simple story of a child persisting to find a way to hug a cactus. As a whole it’s clean with an adorable story and a funny surprise ending.

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Morals/Values: 4 out of 5

Story: 3 out of 5

Read-Aloud Value: 4 out of 5

Discussion Value: 3 out of 5

Considerations

In our usual LJR fashion, we try to find anything that Christian families may want to know about ahead of time to address, skip, or dig deeper into. Take a look at what we found below. Our take on Discipleship Opportunities is at the bottom of the review.

• Gender/Sexuality: No issues to speak of. One page shows the child talking to her mother who is in a towel shaving her legs with a pair of underwear in the upper right corner hanging from a laundry line. On another page, a bra (or maybe even a swimsuit top) is shown on the cactus.

Discipleship Opportunities for How to Hug a Cactus

• Like The Mitten, discuss Proverbs 12:15, which says, “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel is wise.” Discuss how the child seeks ideas from others when she isn’t sure what she can do to hug her cactus.
• The cactus is prickly and hurts the little girl when she tries to hug it. Though it’s easy to look at this as a way to love someone who isn’t unlovable, the cactus isn’t trying to hurt the girl so a better way to teach your child may be to look at the cactus as something (or someone) who others may want to be around as well. Discuss what it looks like to love your neighbor. Given how many progressive Christians define what “love your neighbor is,” I would even suggest taking a read of one of Natasha Crain’s articles. I’ve linked directly to the point you’ll want to be sure to talk about.

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