ALEXANDER VON-BISCUIT AND THE PERFECT HUG

Huntington Toad has had a dreama dream about a perfect hug. A hug like he's never hugged before. And so he sets off on a quest to find this perfect hug, enlisting some animal friends and strangers to help him along the way. But no hug seems to be quite perfect enough; too soft, too hard, too tickly, too upside down. Will Huntington Toad ever find a perfect hug? Or, maybe more importantly: do they even exist? Charming, quirky, filled with heart and wholly one of a kind, Oren's story will make readers of all ages laughand make them think.

Oren's debut picture book,The Bear Who Wasn't There, initially published to much acclaim in Germany in 2014, and came out in the U.S. through Akashic Books' Black Sheep imprint last fall. O, The Oprah Magazine, called the book "irresistible... playfully existential," and a starred review in Publishers Weekly praised "the charm of Lavie's storytelling voice." (The illustrator of the book was the exceptionally talented winner of the 2017 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, Wolf Erlbruch.)

Outside the realm of books, Oren Lavie is also a much accomplished composer, musician, and playwright. His debut album The Opposite Side of the Sea was released worldwide to critical acclaim. The music video for "Her Morning Elegance" (which he also produced, co-created, and co-directed) was nominated for a Grammy and became a YouTube hit with over thirty million views to date, and has been screened in many film festivals and exhibits worldwide, including Cannes Lion, LA Film Festival, Centre Pompidou, and SWSX. Oren also won the prestigious ASCAP award for his lyrics on the album. Oren's song "A Dance 'round The Memory Tree" was featured in Disney's film,The Narnia ChroniclesPrince Caspian, and other songs from the album have been included on film and TV soundtracks. His latest album was released by Sony Music / Entertainment May 2017 in Europe, and will be forthcoming in the U.S. as well. The first video, "Did You Really Say No" (featuring Vanessa Paradis) has already been selected to compete in various short film festivals in Europe, and has been viewed/played over one million times across multiple platforms. Oren was previously invited to perform on the Jimmy Kimmel show, where he played and sang accompanied by a puppet. He has also written and directed plays in London, New York, and Israel, winning awards, grants, and critical attention. His play Lighting The Day was a critic's choice in London Time Out. Oren currently lives in Tel Aviv, though frequently travels abroad to the US.