In this story of overcoming fears and friendship, Hugo is a good-natured, yellow bird living in Paris. He prefers to live life on the ground, and he certainly knows how to make the most of it: eating popcorn, playing in drinking fountains, and watching ballet performances. When his new friend Lulu tires of these terrestrial activities, she discovers the true reason for Hugo’s earthbound life—he doesn’t know how to fly. Dominguez brings a delightful illustration style to the tale with ink, water colors, and paper texturing. Lulu’s style is disappointingly generic when compared to Hugo’s pizzazz. While he wears a classy plaid scarf and sports a stylish pencil moustache, Lulu has standard issue pink feathers with pink bows and long eyelashes. The Parisian setting is depicted with transportive detail in the architecture of buildings and the style and activities of characters that will delight and inspire readers who dream of a trip to Paris. The full page spread providing a literal bird’s eye view of the city of lights as Hugo soars along with Lulu is superb, particularly thanks to Dominguez’s insightful decision to leave the page wordless so readers, like Hugo, pause to take in the view. Easter eggs await in the endpapers and emphasize the attention to detail in the story.
Hugo is a bird that's afraid to fly. I love this story, because he faces his fears and ends up so happy once he's learned how to fly. I also love that he has such wonderful friends along the way that help him practice and help him through his nerves when he's scared. Sometimes it's helpful to have friends that can help you to overcome your fears. :) Plus, the illustrations in this story based in Paris are gorgeous!
Let's Go, Hugo! is a fantastic picture book. Hugo, a bird who's comfortable living at ground level and scared of flying is pretty happy with his life. But he meets a friend, Lulu, who tells him that the Eiffel Tower is just a small flight away, and Hugo would love to see it. The illustrations are adorable, and the book has a fantastic message about being courageous and trying something new and scary. Hugo doesn't overcome his fear alone, and the book also highlights excellent friends, Iike Lulu, who show care and kindness to help Hugo overcome his fear.
This fanciful tale of friendship and courage is terrific. The whimsical illustrations, the Paris setting, Hugo's never ending excuses—it all combines to create a favorite around our home.
Hugo the Parisian bird is very happy on the ground, until one day he makes a friend who encourages him to fly. This book has a cute story about trying new things and stretching ourselves beyond our comfort zones. However, I'll admit that I'm a biased Francophile--the illustrations of scenes around Paris are my favorite part.
"[I]n her first outing as both author and illustrator, [Dominguez] lets this tale about facing one’s fears unfold through wordy, literal insights . . . "
"The book charms from the start, but Dominguez excels with her slow revelation of Hugo’s qualms. When readers first meet Hugo, his on-the-ground life appears to be one of choice, not one forced by fear, so this neatly introduces children to the truth that people find ways to hide their fears . . . "
Angela Dominguez was born in Mexico City, grew up in the great state of Texas, and now resides on the East Coast. She is the author and illustrator of several books for children including the Pura Belpré Illustration Honor books Maria Had a Little Llama and Mango, Abuela, and Me. When Angela is not in her studio, she teaches at the Academy of Art University. She also enjoys presenting at different schools and libraries to all sorts of ages. Angela is a proud member of SCBWI, PEN America, and represented by Wernick & Pratt Literary Agency. As a child, she loved reading books and making a mess creating pictures. She’s delighted to still be doing both.
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