March 20 – International Day of Happiness

About the Holiday

International Day of Happiness celebrates happiness around the world, supporting this important sense of wellbeing no matter how it is measured. While in its recognition of the holiday, the United Nations focuses on economic, human rights, environmental, peace, and social initiatives, including these 17 Sustainable Development Goals, we are all invited to find happiness in ways that are meaningful to us and spread that joy to others. One way to find lasting peace and happiness is to embrace the connectedness of all things and our place in the world alongside our family and neighbors and within all aspects of nature. Today’s book was written for children, but its message is true and offers happiness for all ages.

Thank you to Abrams Books for Young Readers for sharing a digital copy of this book with me!

The Animals Speak: The Lakota Way / Wamákashkaŋ’iya: Lakhól Wichóh’aŋ Kiŋ

By S. D. Nelson | Translated by Dakota Goodhouse

“If you look with your eyes and listen with your ears, our animal relatives will share their ancient wisdom with you. A spirit line connects us as we journey together.”

With this welcome to explore the world, S. D. Nelson Maȟpíya Kiny’An (Flying Cloud), Hunkpapa Lakota and a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, invites young readers to look to nature and embrace the lessons that “the wild ones”: “the Four-leggeds and the Winged beings of the air . . . the little Creepy-crawlies, the Water-beings, and the Green, Growing Things” have to impart to us “Two-leggeds” from their vast histories and experiences in sharing this world. In Lakota tradition, each member of nature can inspire us every day to live with the curiosity, courage, heart, humor, and values that help us along our life’s journey while connecting us to each other and the environment.

Beginning with “Buffalo Tatánka (tah-TAHN-kah),” that storied animal that once freely roamed the prairies, Nelson writes, “Buffalo is strong. In times past, we used his hide to make our clothes and tipis. Buffalo gave his life and nourished our people. Today, he guides us to SHARE and BE GENEROUS.” With her playfulness, “Otter Ptán (p’TAHN) . . . reminds us that SMILES and LAUGHTER are good for our hearts,” while “Butterfly Kimímela (kee-MEE-may-lah). . . shows us that CHANGE IS GOOD and to open ourselves to NEW WAYS.” Others remind us to keep our wits about us lest we be led astray by tricks or into danger, while still more speak to inspiration, insight, and new perspectives.

Following the story, Nelson reverently and poignantly discusses Lakota traditions and beliefs about the spirit line and the all-encompassing, yet incomprehensible force “Wakán Tánka (wah-KAHN TAHN-kah)—the Great Mystery” that connect humans, animals, plants, and all aspects of nature as we journey together through life.

Nelson accompanies his lyrical text with illustrations of soft mottled and blended natural hues of acrylic paint that, as Nelson explains in his Author’s Note, “. . . are inspired by traditional Lakota pictographs and ledger-book drawings, with their bold use of line, shape, and color. My Indigenous ancestors painted on animal skins, their tipis, their horses, and even their own faces. We still do! These stylized images include natural forms as well as abstract symbols.” Each page invites readers to linger to absorb and talk about all of the stunning imagery.

The Animals Speak is a book that will change the way you look at the world—it’s animals, plants, people, and nature in general. While reading, one can feel—like a hug—the peace of interconnectedness, a happy perspective that can be incorporated into everyday life. This is a book to treasure and is a must for public, school, and classroom libraries as well as home bookshelves. It would also make a wonderful and much-loved gift.

Ages 4 – 8+

Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2026 | ISBN 978-1419764448

S. D. Nelson, Maȟpíya Kiny’An (Flying Cloud), is a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in the Dakotas and the author and illustrator of inspiring children’s books that celebrate Lakota and Indigenous cultures. Awards include an American Indian Library Association Honor Book, an ALA Robert F. Sibert Honor, and two Spur Awards from Western Writers of America. His original paintings are held in many national collections, including the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian, Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, South Dakota State Historical Society, the Crazy Horse Memorial and State Historical Society of North Dakota. He lives in Cottonwood, Arizona. Visit him to see his many books and his art at sdnelson.net.

International Day of Happiness Activity

CPB - Happiness typography

Happiness Is . . . Game

Happiness is all around you! Grab one or more friends to play a game that reveals what things make you happy. Here are two ways to play and two possible endings for each game. Choose the one that will lead to maximum happiness for all!

Like the “Geography” game: the first player names something that makes them happy, the next player must think of something that starts with the last letter of the word the previous player said. The game continues with each player continuing the pattern. Players drop out as they cannot think of a word. The last player left is the winner. Or set a time frame to play and name no winner.
Within a certain time limit (depending on age), players must think of something that makes them happy. Players drop out if they cannot think of a word within the time limit. The last player left is the winner. Or set a time frame to play and name no winner.

You can purchase The Animals Speak: The Lakota Way / Wamákashkaŋ’iya: Lakhól Wichóh’aŋ Kiŋ from these booksellers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop

Picture Book Review

March 3 – National I Want You to be Happy Day

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

With everything going on in our lives it can be easy to focus on ourselves, our work, and the next task to be done. National I Want You to be Happy Day reminds us that joy can be found by simply noticing and acting on moments when we can “do something small, sincere, and specific” to make someone else feel happy. Perhaps this is expressing thank-you for a job well done, doing someone a favor, or sharing a smile, compliment, or cup of tea. One of the best ways to celebrate the day is to take a moment to tell someone how much you appreciate them. Bringing joy to someone else is sure to make you happy too!

When You Dream Big!

By Peter H. Reynolds

Charley’s class was celebrating Dream Big Week, and their teacher, Miss Rayna, had asked her students what they wanted to be when they grew up. She’d even given each of them a pair of wings to decorate and display their dream job. Everyone had gotten right to work, but Charley had no idea about her future. When Miss Rayna asked if anyone would like to share their dream, many hands shot into the air. Hazel was going to travel to Mars and invited others to join her. Martin was “going to be a famous actor,” and when Anya became an engineer, she said she would “build a bridge across the ocean.” None of these appealed to Charley; the whole thing made her nervous. Miss Rayna smiled at Charley and told the class it was okay if they needed more time.

After school, Charley walked home, feeling anxious, droopy. Then she looked down at her sandaled feet. She thought for a moment and “gave her toes a good wiggle.” Charley took a deep breath. “She felt grounded” and determined to move forward. The next morning Charley woke up with ideas she couldn’t wait to share. In class, Charley wore her wings and raised her hand first, but when she stood to talk, she froze. She wiggled her toes then began slowly, revealing a new perspective on her future. Her ambitions may not have touched on fame or fortune or the seemingly impossible, but as Charley talked more and more of her classmates joined in with dreams they could attain now, ones that would carry them into a bright future.

An inspirational message for children from Peter H. Reynolds follows the story.

Children frequently hear the question “What do you want to be when you grow up?,” and as they enter school, they’re often asked to write or draw about their hopes and dreams for the future. For some children this focus on a far-away time period can be daunting. In his reassuring story, Peter H. Reynolds brings this question closer—to today, tomorrow, and each step forward. Charley’s dilemma is clearly stated (“she had no idea” what she wants to be), and although trying to answer the question makes her anxious, she remains grounded in her belief in herself. Charley’s display of confidence and her thoughtful answer the next day in class offers welcome insight and gives adults and children a meaningful way to talk about personal growth and staying true to yourself.

Peter H. Reynolds’ immediately recognizable and always charming illustrations replicate the excitement of a classroom celebrating a special project while also highlighting Charley’s growing anxiety. From the moment that Charley wiggles her toes, Reynolds’ pages are bathed in the golden light of her ideas and eagerness to share. The final class Big Dream photo is inspirational in its joyful diversity.

Stirring, affirming, and comforting, When You Dream Big! is a must for all school, classroom, and public library collections and will be requested often from home bookshelves.

Ages 4 – 8

Orchard Books, 2026 | ISBN 978-1339000350

About the Author

Peter H. Reynolds is a New York Times bestselling author and illustrator of many books for children, including Happy Dreamer, The Word Collector, Say Something!, Be You!, Our Table, and All We Need Is Love and a Really Soft Pillow! He is also the illustrator of When Things Aren’t Going Right, Go Left and The Reflection in Me by Marc Colagiovanni. His books have been translated into over 25 languages around the globe and are celebrated worldwide. In 1996, he founded FableVision with his brother, Paul, as a social change agency to help create “stories that matter, stories that move.” He lives in Dedham, Massachusetts, with his family. Visit him at peterhreynolds.com.

I Want You to be Happy Day Activity

When You Dream Big Activity Guide

In your classroom, library, community center, or at home, you can hold a Dream Big event with this When You Dream Big! Activity Guide from Peter H. Reynolds and Scholastic! Full of ideas, discussion questions, and hands-on activities, this kit gives you everything you need to celebrate the power of imagination and self-reflection with your children.

You can purchase When You Dream Big! from these booksellers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop

Picture Book Review

June 20 – Universal Father’s Week

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

Universal Father’s Week is celebrated during the third week of June each year. All week long we give a special tribute to all the fathers (and father figures) who work hard, are caring, lovable, and funny, keep us on our toes as well as the right path, and are just awesome dads. To celebrate, make sure the dads in your life know how much they’re loved and needed!

Thank you to Orchard Books for sharing a digital copy of this book with me for review!

You Make the World

Written by Mượn Thị Văn | Illustrated by Phùng Nguyên Quang and Huỳnh Kim Liên

As the story begins, a father and his young child share a drink from a single mug outside their simple campsite—a small tent and a lantern, but a roaring campfire ringed by stones. The child’s father reveals the poetry of nature, how “the sun makes the world hum. / The clouds make the world blue. / The wind makes the world wild. / The rain makes the world new.” He then tells his child a secret—“But you know what else makes the world? You.”

The child takes this in, a bit surprised. Dad explains how every “hello,” “smile,” or “hug” creates a ripple effect of joy and love and how acceptance will “make the world grow.” In fact, the child, the world, the entire universe are so entwined that the child’s emotions are felt by all. Not only their feelings, but their actions have consequence. “When you forgive, you make the world kind,” the father says. “When you try, you make the world brave.” But even deeper than these single actions or feelings, the father imparts, the child’s very presence “. . . here where you belong . . . make(s) the world whole.”

Mượn Thị Văn introduces her story with a letter to her readers, revealing that You Make the World was inspired by one of her previous books, Wishes.

Phùng Nguyên Quang and Huỳnh Kim Liên’s stunning, color-saturated illustrations carry the father and child as they leave their campsite on a transformative adventure with familiar animals and fantastical beasts. An enormous yak kneels to accept kindness from the child before rainbow-winged birds transport father and child on a flight over fields and streams. Hippos ride the waves with them as they kayak on a raging sea, and the father and child soar into the twilight sky holding the tip of a breaching blue whale’s fin. Along the way, readers will see the growing gathering of shadowed animals keeping watch. As the sun finally sets, the child fills a lantern with starlight before falling to sleep in their father’s arms.

You Make the World is a book that parents, grandparents, teachers, and other caregivers will want to share again and again and one that children will ask for often. The book is a must addition to any home or library collection. It would make a much-loved gift for any occasion, especially for babies and new siblings.

Ages 4 – 8

Orchard Books, 2025 | ISBN 978-1338822045

About the Author

Mượn Thị Văn is the author of many acclaimed picture books. From her debut, In a Village by the Sea (2015), to her latest, If You Want to Be a Butterfly (2023), her books have earned many distinctions, including a California Book Award, an Irma Black Honor, and a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. Her recent book Wishes, with Victo Ngai, won the Margaret Wise Brown Prize and was named the #1 Best Picture Book of 2021 by BookPage. Her books have been translated into multiple languages, including Vietnamese, Nepali, Sepedi, and Tamil. Mượn Thị Văn lives and works in California. Visit her at muonthivan.com.

About the Illustrators

Phùng Nguyên Quang and Huỳnh Kim Liên are book creators who live and work together in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Quang and Liên are currently working on illustrations for a number of children’s titles to be published in Vietnam and Europe. Some of their acclaimed picture book projects include Hundred Years of Happiness and The First Journey. Visit them at kaaillustration.com. You’ll also find Huỳnh Kim Liên at kimlienhuynh.com and Phùng Nguyên Quang at phungnguyenquang.com.

Universal Father’s Day Activity

You Make the World Activity Sheets

Interact with the world around you with these fun activity sheets proved by Scholastic!

You Make the World Dot-to-Dot and Word Search Pages

You can purchase You Make the World from these booksellers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop (discounted books and support for your local independent bookstore)

Picture Book Review

November 2 – It’s Picture Book Month

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

November is all about picture books thanks to Picture Book Month founder author and storyteller Dianne de Las Casas and co-founders author/illustrators Katie Davis, Elizabeth O. Dulemba, Wendy Martin, and author Tara Lazar. This month-long international literacy initiative celebrates print picture books and all that they offer to young (and even older) readers. With gorgeous artwork and compelling stories, picture books open the world to children in surprising ways. They entertain, explain, excite, and help children learn empathy and understanding. If you want to learn more about the holiday and read engaging daily posts about why picture books are important by your favorite authors, illustrators, and others in the children’s publishing industry, visit picturebookmonth.com.

The Song for Everyone

By Lucy Morris

There was a tiny window “too high in the eaves to be noticed from below and too small to let in much daylight.” But one day a “delicate tune” wafted from it’s open panes and floated along the street. A boy trudging to school alone heard it and stopped to listen. As the music swirled around him, he felt happy and he skipped along on his way. Soon an old woman, slow and bent with age, walked by on her way to the market. As she passed under the window, “the sound flowed down and wrapped itself around her weary body.” Suddenly, she felt strong and joyful. A homeless cat followed stray notes from this tantalizing music and was led to two children “who longed for a cat of their own.”

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The music continued to float from the open window, always seeming to know who needed to hear it and making the townspeople begin to care for and connect with each other in new ways. The town grew content and peaceful. But then one morning, the music stopped. The town seemed gray and lifeless, and the people felt sad, lonely, and weary. The people held a meeting and decided to see what was behind the open window. The little boy who’d first heard the music climbed up the ladder of townspeople and clambered inside.

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-the-song-for-everyone-happy

There he found a little wren. She was tired and hungry and her song had left her. The boy promised to help her and he yelled down to the people gathered below. They gathered food and provisions and sent them up to the window in a basket. Two days passed, but the wren stayed silent. But then early one morning…! “A melody, a song. A sound so sweet” once again floated into the air and through the streets. Everyone rushed from their homes and crowded together under the window. There they saw “the boy and the wren making music together. Singing the song for everyone.” A they listened, the central square came alive with dancing, twirling, and playing.

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-the-song-for-everyone-meeting

Lucy Morris’s lovely story—in both words and pictures—reveals the power of one person’s voice and/or actions to transform lives. The wren, singing from a darkened window offers her song, a melody that brings happiness and makes passersby realize they are not alone. Readers can imagine the cheered schoolboy, old woman, and new cat owners sharing their new-found joy with classmates, store clerks, other shoppers, parents, and friends, who also pass their sudden optimism to others until this small community embraces each other as never before. But one wren (or person) cannot sustain it alone. As the townspeople in Morris’s story discovers, it takes a group effort, and it is that coming together that truly creates change.

Morris’s beautiful, lyrical language is as light and buoyant as the wren’s song. Her word choices evocatively describe both the angst, weariness, and world view of the townspeople before the wren’s appearance and the joy, peace, and hopefulness they acquire after accepting her song.

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-the-song-for-everyone-dancing

Morris’s charming illustrations, rendered in a serene color palette portrays a town where, despite the close proximity of the homes and buildings, the people are apparently distanced from each other. The wren’s music is depicted as a garland of flowers that once released into the air do not scatter, but remain strongly together to fill the streets, wrap around the needy, lead the lost, shelter the cold, and lift up those who need a boost.

While the loss of the wren’s song brings sadness, readers will also see that the wren has already accomplished much. Instead of returning to their solitary lives, the townspeople now gather together to discuss a solution. As a little girl addresses the group, kids will understand that their voice is important too. Images of the townspeople each contributing to the wellbeing of the wren and then celebrating her recovery reinforces Morris’ message of community.

A moving and triumphant story that will touch all readers and encourage them to use their individual talents to benefit others, The Song for Everyone will become a thoughtful favorite and is highly recommended for home, school, and public library collections.

Ages 3 – 8

Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2020 | ISBN 978-1547602865

To learn more about Lucy Morris, her books, and her art, visit her website

Picture Book Month Activity

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-books-to-read-bag-empty

Books to Love, Books to Read Book Bag

True book lovers can’t go anywhere without a book (or two or three) to read along the way. With this easy craft you can turn a cloth bag into a kid-size book bag!

Supplies

Printable Templates: Books to Read Template | Books to Love Template
Small cloth bag, available from craft or sewing stores—Recyclable Idea: I used the bag that sheet sets now come in
Cloth trim or strong ribbon, available from craft or sewing stores—Recyclable Idea: I used the cloth handles from shopping bags provided from some clothing stores
Scraps of different colored and patterned cloth. Or use quilting squares, available at craft and sewing stores
Pen or pencil for tracing letters onto cloth
Scissors
Small sharp scissors (or cuticle scissors) for cutting out the center of the letters
Fabric glue
Thread (optional)
Needle (optional)

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-books-to-love-bag-empty

Directions

Print the sayings and cut out the letters
Trace letters onto different kinds of cloth
Cut out cloth letters
Iron cloth bag if necessary
Attach words “Books to Read” to one side of bag with fabric glue
Attach words “Books to Love” to other side of bag with fabric glue
Cut cloth trim or ribbon to desired length to create handles
Glue (or sew) handles onto the inside edge of bag

You can find The Song for Everyone at these booksellers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million

To support your local independent bookstore, order from

Bookshop | IndieBound

Picture Book Review

November 1 – Zero Tasking Day

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

It’s time to change the clocks, but this time it’s the good one – the one where we gain an extra hour of sleep. Does the extra time leave you restless, feeling like you should get more done during the day? Nancy Christie, a self-help coach and better-life blogger founded Zero Tasking Day to encourage people to relax, take care of themselves, and live their best life. So today take some time to really appreciate all the favorite things in your life—like the girl in today’s book.

Now

By Antoinette Portis

A girl, barefoot and with her arms raised high, runs through a field, feeling the exhilaration of the wind on her face. “This is my favorite breeze,” she says. She finds an apple-red maple leaf, which, at this moment, is her favorite. At the beach, she has dug hole after hole, but her favorite is the one she is making right now.

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-now-antoinette-portis-cloud

In the mud that has splattered her ankles, she finds a pink, wriggly worm that tickles her palms when she picks it up. As the girl stretches out on a hill to watch the clouds float by, she decides that her favorite is “the one I am watching.” The best rain is one that creates a river in the street for her paper boat—the one that was her favorite until it sailed into the grate

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-now-antoinette-portis-tree

The most marvelous tree has sturdy branches for the girl to swing from, and a delicate, bell-shaped flower produces her “favorite smell.” There are many birds to feed at the park, but the one she likes the best is the one that comes close enough to eat out of her hand. Her favorite song is the one that swells inside her heart and bursts out with joy, and the most delicious gulp and bite are those that quench her thirst and calm her hunger.

Her favorite tooth leaves a gap in her smile “because it’s the one that is missing.” She and her squeezed-tight cat may differ on the best hug, but they probably agree that their favorite moon is the crescent outside the window tonight. But what is her favorite “Now?” It is this moment, because she is having it with you.”

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-now-antoinette-portis-boat

Antoinette Portis lends her unique perspective to this uplifting book that encourages kids—and, as readers see in the final image, adults—to live in the moment and become fully conscious of the present object, feeling, experience, or sensation. As the little girl’s favorites build on each other, readers become aware of a growing appreciation for all the small joys that make up a day. The theme of the book is revealed on the first page as the girl welcomes the refreshing breeze. The simply drawn, unencumbered illustrations mirror the simple pleasures that she finds everywhere. But look closer and there is more profound meaning in each.

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The veins in the maple leaf become the girl’s smile as she holds it to her face; her song radiates from her in a golden sun-shaped swirl; and the girl’s clothing changes through a year’s worth of experiences as it also matches the color of her feeling or activity, allowing her to become one with it. As readers reach the end of Now, they see two hands holding a book open to an image of an elephant and her calf, animals known for their strong family ties. This illustration leads into and strengthens the final page, where the girl and her mother sit reading that book together. The text and picture work in tandem to embrace the reader while letting both children and adults interpret the previous images in their own way.

Now is a beautiful, quiet book that reminds children and adults to slow down and truly enjoy the fleeting moments of life. It is a wonderful book to share and will open discussions of “favorite things” for home, classroom, and library story times.

Ages 3 – 6

Roaring Brook Press, 2017 | ISBN 978-1626721371

To learn more about Antoinette Portis and her books, visit her website.

Zero Tasking Day Activity

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-sleepy-owls-maze

Sleepy Owls Sleepover Maze

One wide-awake owl wants to join friends as a sleepover. Can you help bring them together in this printable Sleepy Owls Sleepover Maze. Here’s the Solution!

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-now-antoinette-portis-cover

**You can find Now at these booksellers**

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million |

To support your local independent bookstore, order from

Bookshop | IndieBound

August 15 – World Greatness Day

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

Founded in October 2019 by Professor Patrick Businge, World Greatness Day celebrates greatness in all things – people, places, pets, businesses, and especially the unsung heroes among us. Businge encourages us to honor and thank the people who are instrumental in our lives. He also wants us to recognize the greatness that we all have inside. Ensuring that each child understands how unique and special they are improves their self-esteem and self-confidence and sets them on a path to greater success and happiness. Sharing today’s book is a terrific place to start.

Remarkably You

Written by Pat Zeitlow Miller | Illustrated by Patrice Barton

In her stirring Remarkably You, Pat Zeitlow Miller celebrates each child’s individuality and gifts. She talks directly to the reader assuring them that they are exceptional, whether they’re bold, timid, small or “practically grown.” She then fills them with confidence, telling them that they are smart, have power, and can change the world.

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-remarkably-you-parade — Image copyright Patrice Barton, 2019, text copyright Pat Zeitlow Miller, 2019. Courtesy of HarperCollins.

With encouragement Miller beckons each child to find their place in the world and do what they can; and when that is done to “choose a new problem and do it again.” How do kids know where they fit in? “Just look for the moments that let you be you.” Miller goes on to validate each child, saying, “You have your own spirit, unparalleled flair. / So rock what you’ve got—every day everywhere.”

She then channels how every parent or caregiver feels about their child—“You are a blessing, / a promise, a prize. / You’re capable, caring, courageous, and wise.”—and emboldens kids to embrace who they are and get out there and enjoy life—their own, remarkable life.

World Greatness Day Activity

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-you're-great-cards

You’re Amazing Magnets

You can remind your kids about how special they are with these complimentary sayings. Print them out and attach adhesive magnet strips to create decorations for a child’s room, their locker, the fridge or anywhere they’ll see them and take the message to heart. You can also use heavy paper or poster board, markers, and stickers to create your own encouraging magnets.

You’re Amazing Magnet Templates

**You can find Remarkably You at these booksellers**

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million

To support your local independent bookstore, order from

Bookshop | IndieBound

June 14 – National Children’s Day

Posted by Kath Carroll

About the Holiday

On National Children’s Day, parents, grandparents, and other family members and caregivers are encouraged to spend the day with their children, celebrating each child’s unique qualities, listening to them, and recommitting the family to core values of love and acceptance. To celebrate today, talk to your children about their dreams and how the family as a whole can help them achieve their goals. Then have some fun with an activity that’s meaningful to all.

Happy Dreamer

By Peter H. Reynolds

A child floats on a golden, sparkling swirl of their own creation. “I am a happy dreamer,” they say. “I’m really good at dreaming. Daydreams, big dreams, little dreams, creative dreams.” In fact, this child is a “dreamer maximus!” There are times when they’re told to ignore that voice inside…to “sit still” and pay attention. But the music inside is persistent and persuasive, inviting the child to move, to play along and let it out.

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Sometimes dreams require quiet. Then the child says, “I make time to stay still and hear myself think—to let go and see what takes shape.” Can you see it too? There are dreams so big, the child reveals, that sometimes “I’m a shout-at-the-top-of-my-lungs dreamer (even if I’m just a loud-inside-my-head dreamer!)”

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-happy-dreamer-musical-beat

There are times when dreams come in colors that paint a surprising path, and sometimes there are so many dreams firing at once that they cause “creative chaos.” When you ask make me clean up, the child says, I will, but “cleaning up hides my treasures” and “there is less of ME to show.” When that happens, the child explains, “…I feel alone. BOXED IN.” But there is always an escape, a way to recover the “happy dreams.”

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You know what? the child says, “I’m really good at being me. A dreamer—surprising, caring, funny, gentle, smart.” Falling or failing don’t hurt because dreamers always bounce back and keep going. Do you know what kind of dreamer you are? There are so many kinds! What makes you happy? Exploring, working hard, being with family or friends, being alone? Maybe laughing, acting, being wild, being strong. Are you civic-minded, peaceful, thoughtful?

What’s “the best way to be a happy dreamer? Just be YOU.”

celebrate-picture-books-picture-book-review-happy-dreamer-all-kinds-of-dreamers

Peter H. Reynolds is always inspirational, finding just the right words to include all readers while speaking directly and intimately to each reader individually. In Happy Dreamer, Reynolds taps into the ways ideas and talents come knocking, whispering, or shouting to be heard and set free. His lyrical language is engaging for even the youngest readers and meaningful for adults as well—on both a personal level and for those who are parents, caregivers, or teachers.

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From the first image in which the child floats on the glowing swirl of dreams, readers will follow the child as they play music, discover shapes in the clouds, swing to lofty heights, shout to the world, paint a rainbow path, create fireworks and treasures, and break free from the restraints of the world that sometimes tamp down dreams. A double gate-fold filled with dreamers will delight readers as they search for just the type of dreamer they are. Written in the first-person and with gender neutral clothing and hairstyle, Happy Dreamer is a universal story.

Empowering, encouraging, and accepting, Happy Dreamer is a superb choice for home and classroom libraries.

Ages 4 – 8 and up

Orchard Books, an imprint of Scholastic, 2017 | ISBN 978-0545865012

Discover more about Peter Reynolds, his books, and his art on his website.

National Children’s Day Activity

Imagine you are applying for your dream job. What would it be? Why are you the right candidate? Have fun with this portfolio or briefcase craft and printable Dream Job Application and start on the road to your happy future!

Supplies

Printable Dream Job Application
Poster board, black or any color a child likes
Glue
Scissors

Directions

To Make the Body of the Briefcase

Cut a rectangle of poster board in proportion to child’s size. Leave ½ inch on either side of the shorter cut to glue the briefcase together. The longer side should be double the height you’d like the finished briefcase to be. (My example was made from a 12-inch by 20-inch strip.)
Fold the poster board in half
Glue the side edges together

To Make the Handle

Cut a narrow strip of poster board
Fold the right side of the strip toward you and down, pinching it tight; repeat on the left side

Print out the Dream Job Application and fill it in!

**You can find Happy Dreamer at these booksellers**

Amazon | Barnes & Noble| Books-a-Million

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Bookshop | IndieBound

Picture Book Review

About the Holiday

The Animals Speak: The Lakota Way / Wamákashkaŋ’iya: Lakhól Wichóh’aŋ Kiŋ

By S. D. Nelson | Translated by Dakota Goodhouse

International Day of Happiness Activity

Happiness Is . . . Game

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About the Holiday

When You Dream Big!

By Peter H. Reynolds

I Want You to be Happy Day Activity

When You Dream Big Activity Guide

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About the Holiday

You Make the World

Written by Mượn Thị Văn | Illustrated by Phùng Nguyên Quang and Huỳnh Kim Liên

Universal Father’s Day Activity

You Make the World Activity Sheets

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About the Holiday

The Song for Everyone

By Lucy Morris

Picture Book Month Activity

Books to Love, Books to Read Book Bag

You can find The Song for Everyone at these booksellers

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About the Holiday

Now

By Antoinette Portis

Zero Tasking Day Activity

Sleepy Owls Sleepover Maze

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About the Holiday

Remarkably You

Written by Pat Zeitlow Miller | Illustrated by Patrice Barton

World Greatness Day Activity

You’re Amazing Magnets

You can find Remarkably You at these booksellers

To support your local independent bookstore, order from

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About the Holiday

Happy Dreamer

By Peter H. Reynolds

National Children’s Day Activity

You can find Happy Dreamer at these booksellers

To support your local independent bookstore, order from

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**You can find Now at these booksellers**

**You can find Remarkably You at these booksellers**

**You can find Happy Dreamer at these booksellers**