ONE HUG: Getting to the Heart of It

By Katrina Moore

My debut picture book, ONE HUG, publishes this December from HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen Books. It's also now available for pre-order everywhere!!
I am so ecstatic that
I could hug the world!!

In sharing this book, I’m really sharing a piece of my heart. It's intimate. A bit scary. And very, very special.

So here's a letter to you about why I wrote this book, what I hope it will do, and who I think it's for (Spoiler alert--it's for you.) ​

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Dear Reader,

When I set out to write One Hug, I wanted to celebrate how powerful and transformative one connection could be—how one hug connects us uniquely, yet universally.

At its heart—it’s about one hug connecting us in ways that sometimes words cannot.

Like the overwhelming joy that one feels when reunited with their far-away family after a long separation. Or that comforting hug from a sibling that soothes us more than a thousand “it’s okays” ever could.
I also wrote this book to give a voice and stage to the little Chinese-American girl in me who never saw herself accurately represented in the media. Growing up, none of the characters I knew were Chinese.  Not on TV. Not in books. The few stories featuring Asian-American characters were issue-driven books surrounding race and identity. I never felt like being Chinese-American was my singular identity, but the media made it seem so.

This book shows the more accurate version of myself and others. Like the characters in One Hug, my cultural identity influences my life, but it’s not my whole story.

Upon first read, this book is a fun, rhythmic, easy read aloud that’s perfect for bedtime—celebrating summer nights, simple pleasures, and the people we love. And yet, when we dig deeper, asking, “Who are these characters? What are they doing? Why are they celebrating?” children, as astute as they are, will notice a cross-cultural family dinner, an immigrant family reunion, and three generations of a family.

I hope it’s a book that all children will cozy up with—anyone who needs some love, and also those who love to hug!

​Hugs and Love,
Katrina Moore

Ready to pre-order?! Available here
https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062849540/one-hug/
and here
https://www.amazon.com/One-Hug-Katrina-Moore/dp/0062849549
and wherever books are sold!

Want to know more about the book? Click here:
https://www.katrinamoorebooks.com/one-hug.html​

Katrina Moore writes and teaches in New Jersey. Earning her M.A. in elementary education, she has been a teacher for almost a decade in Maryland, Massachusetts, and New York.  Her mission is to create books that children will hug for ages.  Her debut picture book, ONE HUG, illustrated by the talented Julia Woolf, is a lyrical celebration of the different ways that hugs bring people together, forthcoming from HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen Books in 2019. The book follows an Asian-American boy as he and his family prepare to welcome their immigrant relatives. Her second picture book, GRANDPA GRUMPS, illustrated by the amazing Xindi Yan, is a humorous and heartfelt story featuring a little girl, Daisy, and how she connects with her Chinese grandfather across cultures and generations, forthcoming from Little Bee Books in 2020. When she is not teaching elementary kids or writing, she is cooking without a recipe, painting outside the lines, or  snuggling up with her two kids, husband, pomapoo pup, and of course, a cozy book. Connect with her on twitter @kmoorebooks or at www.katrinamoorebooks.com.