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Picture book · Feelings & perspective

A Wobbly Hug

Hugs can feel easy… or wonderfully wobbly.

Azalea skips into nursery with a heart full of hugs. Rowan needs a little more space. A gentle, hand-drawn story about big feelings, kind boundaries and finding your calm again, together.

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  • FormatPaperback & Kindle
  • AgesAges 2–6
  • ThemesBig feelings · Kind boundaries and consent · Starting nursery
  • IllustrationsWritten and illustrated by Mimi Maple
Big feelingsKind boundaries and consentStarting nurseryCalm cornersFeelings are like the weather

The story

A heart full of hugs meets a friend who needs space.

When big feelings bubble up, a gentle friend and a caring heart can help bring calm again. This tender story celebrates friendship, kind boundaries, and learning to be gentle — together.From the back cover

Azalea skips into nursery with happy feet and a heart full of hugs. Rowan waits by the door: too loud, too bright, I must wait. What happens when a big warm hug meets a wobbly feeling?

Drawn entirely by hand in coloured pencil, A Wobbly Hug was created to support conversations about emotions, personal space and perspective, and the small safe places that help calm come back.

“Every picture in this book was drawn by hand, made slowly and lovingly, one page at a time. Many drawings were redrawn, changed, and improved along the way. Some pages took several tries before they felt just right. This story grew through patience, practice, and learning.”Mimi Maple, on making A Wobbly Hug

Look inside

Turn the pages.

Tap the page, use the arrows or your keyboard to turn through the first few pages of the book, then find out what happens next. Press ⤢ to see any page full size.

Jump to a page

Choose a picture to see it up close.

Every page here was coloured by hand in pencil. Tap any picture to open it full size and swipe through the rest.

Meet the friends in this book

Azalea, Rowan and a calm, kind teacher.

Tap a friend to read a little about them and discover one small secret.

Meet everyone in the world of Mimi Maple

Words to remember

Little lines to carry with you.

Gentle rhymes from the book that are lovely to say together at bedtime or circle time. Press “Read aloud” to hear each one.

For grown-ups, teachers and little thinkers

Let’s talk about the story

Six simple questions from the book’s own talk-about-it page, to open a conversation after reading.

    More discussion guides

    Play: feelings are like the weather

    What is your feeling weather today?

    In the story the teacher shows the class a rainbow, a cloud and a sun. Choose the weather that feels most like you right now, then peek at the chart from the book.

    A Wobbly Hug

    Pick your weather

    Sunny smiles, rainy eyes: every kind of weather is allowed.

    Choose one above to see your little message.
    More games in the Playroom

    A calm corner at home or nursery

    A small safe place for wobbly days.

    The book’s own Create Your Calm Corner page asks one question: what helps you feel calm? These are the things it shows. Tap each one to build your corner.

    A soft cushion

    When nursery feels too loud and too bright, where can a wobbly feeling go? A soft cushion is the first thing the book’s Calm Corner page shows.

    A box of calm toys

    Beside the cushion, the page shows a box of soft, calm toys: something gentle to hold when a feeling gets big.

    Crayons and the weather chart

    A box of crayons and the Feelings are like the weather chart, so children can colour how they feel and check in each morning.

    My calm corner

    What is in your corner?

    Nothing chosen yet. Tap “Add to my corner” on the cards above.

    Then print the Create Your Calm Corner page below and draw the corner you would build.

    Try this at home

    Three little things to do after reading.

    Simple ideas that grow straight out of the story, plus two free printables from the book to download and colour.

    Ask first

    Would you like a hug, a high five or a wave?

    The book suggests asking before a hug. Practise here: pick the hello you would like today.

    Every answer is a kind answer. Choose one.

    All free printables for grown-ups →

    Take the story home

    Ready for a wobbly hug?

    Buy a paperback direct from Mimi (a little cheaper than Amazon, posted by Mimi — nothing is charged on the website until Mimi sends a payment link), read the digital edition online, or buy on Amazon in paperback and for Kindle. Selected titles are also at The Dance House Academy shop in Clacton-on-Sea.

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