When You Are Happy

THIS IS A GREAT BOOK, FOR A GREAT PRICE!IT ARRIVED FAST & IN GREAT CONDITION! THANKS!

My three-year old daughter and I first enjoyed this book by borrowing it from our local library. It only took one reading to realize that this was one for our home library. The poetic text is sweet without being saccharine. The words convey all the ways a family loves a child through thick and thin with humor and a touch of reverence. I was intially unsure whether my daughter would be engaged by this less-story and more-poem type of text, but she often recites the lines right along with me. And then there are the illustrations...just amazing. The colors, textures, and images draw the reader into a bright and shining world that is both wide and oh-so-cozy. Even on the pages where the text speaks of sadness or sickness, you feel somehow safe and content. Each spread features the main characters along with "hidden" vignettes featuring the little girl's dolls and a maverick moon who follows along with the sentiments page by page. I write an e-newsletter for my local moms' group, and this book was the reason I decided our newsletter needed a "Book of the Month" column. "When You Are Happy" was the first book featured, and I truly hope that every one of the 135 moms in our group picks up a copy to share with her kids. Happy reading.

The first time I read this book to my daughter, it made me cry. It said exactly what I feel about her in a way that I don't think I could - or at least not that I would have considered. It really puts words to that special love that parents, grandparents and even siblings have for children. This is the second book by this author and illustrator team. The first, Do You Have a Hat, was one of my daughter's favorites. This book has a very different feel thematically but is just as wonderful. The illustration is beautiful and rich and exciting in both. This is definitely one we need to own (having only recently borrowed it from the library). If you want your child to know how much they are loved, how safe they are, and how much joy they bring, read them this book.

What a delightful spell Eileen Spinelli weaves with this soothing, colorful book that was probably written for her grandchildren. It's the perfect goodnight read, as it gently reminds children that they are loved. When they are sad, they'll be held. When they're cold, they'll be warmed. When they're sick, they'll be babied. When they're afraid, they'll be supported. Best of all, when they're lost, they'll be searched for like rare treasure. "I will wear out my shoes and a dozen little rays of hope," writes Spinell, "but...I WILL find you!"

I found this book recently and am reading it to my boys every night. It talkes about fear, sadness, being lost and how the parent makes the kids always feel better. I can identify with the book and read it with a passion that comes from the bottom of my heart.It is so true to the nature of parenthood. Fun to read and my boys love it as well. Great book to have in your collection.