Cindy Wume explores what makes a 'home' in her picture book, Home is a Hug
About Author
ReadingZone caught up with author and illustrator Cindy Wume to explore home and belonging in her picture book, Home is a Hug.
Cindy works as a freelance illustrator from Tainan, Taiwan, creating art inspired by humanity, a sense of place, and imagination.
She studied foreign languages and literature, and has an MA in Children's Book Illustration from Cambridge School of Art. She works with gouache, marker, ink, dip-pen and colored pencils. Her picture books include The Best Sound in the World, The Bookshop Cat and The Gardening Dog.
Interview
April 2026
Cindy Wume explores the meaning of 'home' in her picture book, Home is a Hug
With its quirky illustrations, flaps to explore and all the warmth of a true home, Cindy Wume's picture book, Home is a Hug, is the ideal starting point for encouraging children to think about all the things that make a house a home.
More about Home is a Hug: Discover the true meaning of home in this heartfelt hug of a book, featuring peek-through pages and lift-the-flap surprises.
Review: "A gentle and imaginative picture book which begins by asking a simple but powerful question: What does it take to build a home?"
Q&A with Cindy Hume: Exploring what makes a home in Home is a Hug
'Home' is where my strength comes from, and I believe it's the same for many people. I tried to include as many examples as I could
in the book so readers from different backgrounds would feel it resonated with them too.
1. What brought you into creating children's picture books? Did you train in illustration, and do you also do other kinds of work?
I've loved picture books since I was a child. I studied literature at college but soon realised drawing was my real passion, so I applied for the MA Children's Book Illustration course at Cambridge School of Art to pursue my dream of being an illustrator. I feel like creating children's picture books is a wonderful format to express messages and provide children with a window into the world of art and stories. This inspires me to create more and reminds me to take care with the values instilled in the books I create.
In addition to illustrating children's books, I also do other kinds of illustration work: animations for TV shows (collaborating with professional animators), poster designs for libraries or brands, and illustration work for clients from different fields.
2. Have any children's authors or illustrators helped inspire you to become a picture book creator? What kinds of picture books do you enjoy creating?
When I was little, Where the Wild things Are by Maurice Sendak was my favourite. And when I studied my MA course, I discovered more brilliant picture book artists. I love Roger Duvoisin's expressive lines; the powerful compositions in Max Velthuijs' The Monster from Halfway to Nowhere; the experimental works Beatrice Alemagna creates; Laura Carlin's incredible art and many more.
I love collecting picture books and they all inspire me hugely. I also try to create books that I think my younger self would enjoy reading.
3. Can you tell us what your new picture book, Home is a Hug, is about?
It explores the concept of 'home' where everything starts. While exploring the book, readers can discover all types of homes, both real and imaginary. With simple words, images, die-cuts and flaps, I hope the book shows how 'home' can evolve and nourish us.
While creating this book, I wanted to create many individual moments; from moments that remind us of our loved ones to humorous moments discovering novelty surprises, to moments where the reader stops and considers what home truly means to us.
4. Why did you want to explore what 'home' means to different people? How do you create the sense of a 'hug' through the pages for young children?
'Home' is where my strength comes from, and I believe it's the same for many people. I tried to include as many examples as I could in the book so readers from different backgrounds would feel it resonated with them too.
I hope kids feel the 'hug' while playing with the die-cuts and flaps as they read the book - the action of lifting the flaps or discovering the surprises making them feel they are part of the story too.
5. You share many different kinds of homes and what home means to different people and creatures. What are the top three things that make a home for you?
A feeling of belonging, sense of safety and a place where we can always be ourselves are three things that make a home for me. I tried to capture those feelings in different spreads. For example, the caterpillar's big apple home where it feels like it belongs, the wonderful dinner the dad prepares for the child, or the umbrella sheltering the characters from the rain.
6. What kinds of conversations with young children would you hope will come from sharing Home is a Hug?
The first thing I imagine they would do is to hug their loved ones tightly. And perhaps they would start talking about what homes mean to them or what their ideal homes would be.
7. Are there any kinds of activities you would suggest to follow on from a reading of Home is a Hug?
Following the conversations, I'd love kids to be inspired to draw their ideal type of homes. They could use the simple house shape to decorate or imagine their own. Or perhaps even create a 3D home in paper or clay!
8. Can you tell us a little about your illustration style and the unusual way you approach the illustrations in Home is a Hug with the colour palette, patterns and cut-throughs?
While exploring the colour palette for the book, I decided to move away from my normal 'multiple colour' approach and explore working more tonally. This became a nice way to separate the main characters from the backgrounds and create coherent atmospheres for the different spreads.
It was also fun to explore using the die-cuts and flaps within the illustrations and how they could add to the reading experience. From the lightbulb on the first spread that becomes a flower on the next spread, to the flaps that lift to reveal hidden details, I tried to enrich the details behind every novelty aspect in the book and hopefully the readers enjoy these elements as much as I do.
9. Are you working on some new picture books currently? For children who enjoy Home is a Hug, what other picture books of yours might they enjoy?
I've just finished illustrating a book about noodles, which was super fun, and I'm currently exploring some ideas around the topic of 'feelings' and how they can be both real and metaphorical, so it's exciting to keep playing in that space and see what those ideas they might become. Of my previous work, I hope readers enjoy The Bookshop Cat and The Gardening Dog which are both out now, and explore unlikely friendships and animals who play important roles in their communities.
10. Are you a homebody, or do you enjoy getting out and about when you're not working on your picture books? Where do you go for inspiration?
I am definitely a homebody, and I stay at home even more now since we adopted a cat! But when I go out, I always take my sketchbooks with me and draw things that capture my eyes. The habit of observing and drawing helps build up the sense of place that I can then draw on for my picture book settings.
Home is a Hug
