The Shluffyland Express Press is thrilled to announce the release of Brantford born and bred children's book author/illustrator Patti Stren’s beloved book “HUG ME FULL COLOR 2nd edition with lotsa new drawings!” Five books in English, French, Bilingual English-French, Ukrainian and Bilingual Ukrainian-English editions. The new books are bigger, the colors are bolder, the snoring is louder and the extended ending will make you want to hug everyone in sight!!

In Patti’s childhood, her mother always read books to her out loud with a French accent. She grew up thinking that Goldilocks and the 3 Bears, Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf and Grandma, The Little Engine that Could and Ferdinand the Bull all lived in adjoining suites at the Château Frontenac in Quebec City. These cherished memories inspired Patti to create “HUG ME” in French and Bilingual English-French.

While working on these new editions, Patti heard the terrible news stories coming out about the war in Ukraine and how children there were being traumatized by the horrible events taking place. Patti was deeply moved by the First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska’s July 20, 2022 passionate plea to the United States Congress: “We want every father and every mother to be able to tell their child to go to sleep peacefully, there will be no more airstrikes, no more missile strikes.” And then, when Patti read an August 9, 2022 article in her hometown paper The Brantford Expositor, about a Ukrainian refugee Mother, Father and little boy who had relocated to Brantford, this felt personal for her because her maternal Grandparents had emigrated from Kyiv in Ukraine. Stren became determined to have “HUG ME” translated into Ukrainian and Bilingual Ukrainian-English books. She hired a translator living in Ukraine, whose little boy and little girl  became the narrators. These children sent a special request asking if she could make videos for TikTok and YouTube, so they could see them in Ukraine. Patti hired an international team to make the videos. She was determined to give a message of hope and friendship for all the beautiful brave children living in Ukraine and elsewhere.

All 5 editions of “HUG ME FULL COLOR” are available to purchase on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

1) Videos can be seen by searching: PattiStrenHugMe or HugMePattiStren on YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest, Patreon, Facebook and Instagram.
2) Videos can also be seen on Patti’s website: https://pattistren.com/videos/
3) To hear the audios on Patti’s website: https://pattistren.com/audios/
4) Patti Stren’s new website: pattistren.com
5) Introduction to The Shluffyland Express Press: TheShluffylandExpressPress.com
6) Link to a few of the articles about Patti from: The Brantford Expositor, The Toronto Star, The Globe & Mail and The University of Toronto Magazine, as well as book reviews: pattistren.com/articles/

Sincerely,

Lee Gretenstein
Director, Production Design and Promotion, The Shluffyland Express Press

The Shluffyland Express Press: Email: strenps@aol.com
Director, Production/Promotion: Lee Gretenstein: Email: strenps@aol.com  W: 1+ (929) 629-5309
Patti Stren, Creator of HUG ME: Email: strenps@aol.com  W: 1+ (646) 539-8664
Read about The Shluffyland Express Press here: TheShluffylandExpressPress.com