Punch!: A Story About Kindness
By (Author) Michael Hall
Illustrated by Michael Hall
HarperCollins Publishers Inc
Greenwillow Books
26th August 2025
5th June 2025
United States
Children
Fiction
Childrens / Teenage fiction: Humorous stories
Hardback
40
Width 229mm, Height 279mm
476g
When Badger bullies his friends Frog, Moose, Elephant, and Bear, they teach him an unforgettable lesson about empathy, kindness, and forgiveness in this funny and thematically rich social and emotional read-aloud from the acclaimed creator ofRed: A Crayon's Story.
Badger, Frog, Moose, Elephant, and Bear are best friends. But when Badger experiences a personal loss and his emotions are too big to contain, he goes looking for trouble and takes his sadness out on his friends. He trips Frog, shoves Moose, kicks Elephant, and pokes Bear with a shovel. So Bear gathers the others, and they come up with a plan to teach Badger a lesson. Only that lesson is not what Badgeror readersexpect. In fact, Badgers friends treat Badger with kindness, offering him what he needs the most to sooth his raw emotions. A surprising turn of events that Badger takes to heart when Bear needs a little comfort in return.
Illustrated in Michael Halls signature cut-paper collages, Punch! sparkles with inventive wordplay, rhythm, repetition, homonyms, and plenty of suspense and action. Rich with social and emotional hooks, this picture book is a terrific choice for story time and family sharing.
In Halls signature style of painted paper and digitally produced line art and shapes, an angry badger gets a lovingly delivered lesson on kindness from his friends. . . .This simple tale will resonate with young children, who often have big emotions for reasons they cannot verbalize. . . .Visually appealing for the intended audience, with a message centered on acceptance and repaying hurtful actions with kindness, this work is full of warmth and sensitivity toward its audience. Highly recommended. School Library Journal
Michael Hall grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and lives with his family in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is the creator of numerous acclaimed picture books for children, including Frankencrayon, Red: A Crayons Story, My Heart Is Like a Zoo, Perfect Square, and Its an Orange Aardvark! Michael Hall grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and lives with his family in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is the creator of numerous acclaimed picture books for children, including Frankencrayon, Red: A Crayons Story, My Heart Is Like a Zoo, Perfect Square, and Its an Orange Aardvark!