Waffles and Julius: No Hugs Please

Ed Vere author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Penguin Random House Children's UK

Publishing:4th Jun '26

£7.99

This title is due to be published on 4th June, and will be despatched as soon as possible.

Waffles and Julius: No Hugs Please cover

Introducing Waffles and Julius: a new grumpy/sunshine duo and the stars of this brilliantly funny, brand-new picture book. Focused on friendship and respecting each other’s differences, No Hugs Please comes from the mind of Ed Vere, the bestselling creator of Max the Brave and How to Be a Lion.

Meet Waffles and Julius.

Waffles loves hugs.
Julius does not.

Waffles would very much like to hug his friend Julius. Julius, however, prefers other things: most notably, cat-naps. But definitely not hugs.

Waffles will wait until Julius is ready. It won't be so hard...will it?
(Yes...it will.)

Will Waffles get a hug?

“Vere presents the classic cat-and-dog conflict with humor that primarily comes through his colorful mixed-media illustrations.The playful text makes for a lively read-aloud. Underneath the silliness is a welcome lesson about patience, respecting boundaries, and accepting others as they are.” - The Horn Book Magazine.

Vere presents the classic cat-and-dog conflict with humor that primarily comes through his colorful mixed-media illustrations... The playful text makes for a lively read-aloud. Underneath the silliness is a welcome lesson about patience, respecting boundaries, and accepting others as they are. * The Horn Book starred review *

Vere effectively plays the differences between dogs and cats for laughs; he also smoothly underscores the importance of respecting boundaries and demonstrates that even the best-intentioned among us can fail to truly empathize with our friends. His text is short and accessible for beginning readers, while the art focuses closely on the characters; they’re drawn as expressive cartoon shapes, large and set against mostly plain backgrounds, allowing readers to fill in the gaps and imagine the setting for themselves.

A clever and funny friendship primer.

* Kirkus Reviews *

ISBN: 9780241709832

Dimensions: 280mm x 210mm x 4mm

Weight: 175g

32 pages