How to Build a Hug: Temple Grandin and Her Amazing Squeeze Machine

by Amy Guglielmo, Jacqueline Tourville, Giselle Potter (Illustrator)

Overview

Amy Guglielmo, Jacqueline Tourville, and Giselle Potter come together to tell the inspiring story of autism advocate Dr. Temple Grandin and her brilliant invention: the hug machine.

As a young girl, Temple Grandin loved folding paper kites, making obstacle courses, and building lean-tos. But she really didn’t like hugs. Temple wanted to be held—but to her, hugs felt like being stuffed inside the scratchiest sock in the world; like a tidal wave of dentist drills, sandpaper, and awful cologne, coming at her all at once. Would she ever get to enjoy the comfort of a hug?

Then one day, Temple had an idea. If she couldn’t receive a hug, she would make one...she would build a hug machine!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781534410978
Publisher:	Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	08/28/2018
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	238,288
Product dimensions:	9.20(w) x 10.50(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Amy Guglielmo lives a life in pictures. In addition to writing about art, artists, and makers, she is a painter, teacher, and supporter of arts education for children of all ages. Amy once created a Barbie house, equipped with a working elevator, and she is an A-plus hugger. She lives with her husband on the Adirondack coast of Lake Champlain. You can visit Amy online at AmyGuglielmo.com.

Jacqueline Tourville’s experience working with children with autism as a public school teacher opened her eyes to the importance of inclusive stories for kids. The author of Albie’s First Word: A Tale Inspired by Albert Einstein’s Childhood and coauthor with Amy Guglielmo of Pocket Full of Colors: The Magical World of Mary Blair, Disney Artist Extraordinaire, Jacqueline lives in Maine with her family. Ask her about the miniature log cabin she once built for her cat! Visit her at JacquelineTourville.com.

Giselle Potter has illustrated many books, including Try It! by Mara Rockliff, All by Himself? by Elana K. Arnold, and Kate and the Beanstalk by Mary Pope Osborne, as well as her own Tell Me What to Dream About, This Is My Dollhouse, and The Year I Didn’t Go to School, about traveling through Italy with her parents’ puppet troupe when she was eight. She lives in Rosendale, New York, with her husband and two daughters. Visit her at GisellePotter.com.

Editorial Reviews

07/16/2018
Guglielmo and Tourville gently present the story behind Grandin’s “squeeze machine,” describing Grandin’s childhood love of building and design, as well as her sensitivities: “Temple did not like scratchy socks, whistling teakettles, bright lights, or smelly perfumes.” Hugs, in particular, she found unbearable. But, the authors explain, Grandin discovered that external pressure placed on her body made her feel secure. As an adult, Grandin observed how cows are placed in squeeze chutes to calm them during veterinary exams; this led Grandin to design her own “hug machine.” Potter’s warm illustrations feature human and animal figures that are reminiscent of folk art dolls while showing Grandin’s discomfort with outside stimulation. The authors avoid overt mention of autism in the story, but back matter elaborates on Grandin’s life, career, and contributions to autism awareness. Ages 4–8. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

"The authors take readers from Grandin’s early childhood through her young adulthood, lightly sketching in biographical information in order to focus on her antipathy to being hugged by others and her resultant invention. Potter’s illustrations capture Grandin’s likeness well and frequently show her with tools in hand or near animals, reinforcing the text’s emphasis on these interests."

The Horn Book

"Potter’s watercolors . . . convey Grandin’s intelligence, inventiveness and social challenges, emphasizing both her intense reaction to hyperstimulation and her calm demeanor under situational control. An author’s note offers additional information on Grandin’s life and the innovative therapies deriving from her 'hug machine.' Although readers interested in autism will be a prime audience, this engaging title will be well received in invention-themed reading programs as well."

BCCB

"Grandin’s story is tenderly told. The consternation the young girl feels at her inability to partake in a fundamental human experience is abundantly clear through Potter’s woodcut-style, sensory illustrations, and her eventual solution feels like a unique triumph. An author’s note explains how Grandin’s experience with autism has shaped her life and her activism."

Booklist

"Grandin’s story is tenderly told. The consternation the young girl feels at her inability to partake in a fundamental human experience is abundantly clear through Potter’s woodcut-style, sensory illustrations, and her eventual solution feels like a unique triumph. An author’s note explains how Grandin’s experience with autism has shaped her life and her activism."

Booklist

07/01/2018
K-Gr 3—Guglielmo and Tourville (Pocket Full of Colors: The Magical World of Mary Blair) team up again to present a picture book biography of noted out-of-the-box thinker, Temple Grandin. The authors focus on young Grandin's creativity and ingenuity and her sensitivity to sights, sounds, smells, and touch—being hugged "felt like being stuffed inside the scratchiest sock in the world.". The narrative details how Grandin came to work on the cattle systems that would make her legendary, and what relief she found in the work. Potter skillfully depicts Grandin's experience using her familiar folk art style. She makes effective use of white space and spot illustrations to carry the story forward and depict Grandin's thoughts and feelings. In another spread, Potter suggests a connection between Grandin and her mother, even as Temple is shown hiding under a table and then running away from a hug: her plaid shirt matches the colors and lines on her mother's apron. An authors' note gives more detail about Grandin's life and work, but no sources are listed. Notably, the back matter is the only place in the book where autism is mentioned. VERDICT An inspiring look at the development of a scientist and advocate. Highly recommended for biography sections as well as for elementary STEAM curricula.—Jennifer Costa, Cambridge Public Library, MA

School Library Journal

2018-06-25
A picture book explores Temple Grandin's first innovation, a personalized hug machine.When she was a child, Temple Grandin couldn't stand hugs. To her, they "felt like being stuffed inside the scratchiest sock in the world." While she craved the comfort she saw others receiving from hugs, she found physical contact with others to be overstimulating and actively unpleasant. During one summer at her aunt's ranch, she observed the squeeze chutes that ranchers used to calm cows during examinations and realized she could give it a try herself. She fashioned her own device out of wood and cushions, using a pulley to make it adjustable from within—all the comfort of a hug without the overstimulation! Guglielmo and Tourville present Grandin's story with respect and enthusiasm. The narrative concludes when her machine breaks. "And she knew that only one thing could cheer her up: // A HUG." A quote from Grandin concludes the text: "I'm into hugging people now." While Grandin has become comfortable with hugs, it's not totally clear how this has come to pass, and for some readers, this ending's emphasis on neurotypical behavior may feel out of place. Potter's watercolor illustrations are typical of her style, with flat faces (almost all of them white), realistic colors, and full-bleed spreads. An authors' note provides more detailed background on Grandin's life and work, and only here is it mentioned that Grandin is on the autism spectrum.Imperfect but still lovely. (Picture book/biography. 5-9)

Kirkus Reviews