How to Fill Your Hug Bank - Softcover

Dixon, Dottie; Welch, Sarah

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1971410012 ISBN 13: 9781971410012

Publisher: Playhouse Books, 2026

Synopsis

What if your child had a simple, comforting way to understand big feelings?

How to Fill Your Hug Bank offers young readers exactly that. 

A hug bank is a little jar inside your heart that holds love and comfort. You fill it up with all kinds of hugs-big hugs, silly hugs, gentle hugs, even no-touch hugs or long-distance hugs-from people you love.

When you feel sad, mad, or overwhelmed, you can take out a hug to help your body feel calm again. And when your hug bank is empty, you can fill it back up with a hug from a grown-up, friend, pet, or even yourself.

Perfect for bedtime, classrooms, and everyday emotional support, How to Fill Your Hug Bank teaches children that love is always within reach, even on hard days.

What kids will discover inside:

• How to fill their hug bank with love from family, friends, pets, and themselves
• Ways to use stored hugs to cope with big feelings like frustration, worry, or loneliness
• That love can be given, received, and shared in a variety of ways, even from far away

Perfect for:

• Bedtime routines
• Social-emotional learning (SEL) at home or in the classroom
• Parents, teachers, therapists, and caregivers supporting sensitive or anxious children

Why families & educators love this book:

• Teaches emotional regulation in a simple, memorable way
• Encourages empathy, connection, and self-soothing
• Supports children through big feelings
• Builds confidence and emotional vocabulary

About this title

About the Authors

Dottie Dixon is, first and foremost, a doting aunt to four wonderful niblings. As a former theater kid and lifelong storyteller, Dottie is a pro at turning small moments into big adventures. While she lives a private life managing a chronic illness, she channels her creativity into children's books, often sparked by imaginative exploits with her first and favorite audience: her nieces and nephews. Her hope is that her stories will take on lives of their own, helping kids everywhere learn, laugh, and feel seen.

Sarah Welch is an editor, creative coach, and the founder of Inkdrop Lit. As a mom and lifelong reader (often under the covers, far past bedtime), she's passionate about helping children explore the world and their place in it through books. Sarah lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband, her son, a dog who can't get enough hugs, and a cat who would prefer not to.

Edition details

• Publisher: Playhouse Books
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1971410012
• ISBN 13: 9781971410012
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 34