I Love to Cuddle

Lola, the young hamster who in I Love You So Much had to wait all day before getting the chance to deliver the title's message to her parents, is as affectionate as ever in this companion book. Once again she has a problem: when her parents go out, Lola has no one to cuddle her. Left with a sitter who, unbelievably, remains ""outside in the garden,"" Lola creates kid-pleasing chaos indoors. ""What can I do?"" she asks then answers herself with the book's best line: ""I won't sulk or cry, because there's nobody here to see me."" Instead, she decides to gather every comfy thing she can find and assembles a ""Cuddle Island."" She sorts through toilet paper, pots and pans, garbage and bath towels, deciding which can contribute to her makeshift bed, where she naps until her parents' return. Predictably, Lola agrees to dismantle her creation and clean up the mess (with Mommy and Daddy's help), since she now has her furry parents to cuddle. As in these collaborators' earlier book, Dubois's simple, breezy drawings are the strongest selling point, attributing an entertaining range of expressions to Lola's diminutive face. Despite its minimal story line, this winsome hand-sized volume trumpets an uplifting and timeless theme. Ages 2-6. (Jan.)