My Happy Life by Rose Lagercrantz, illustrated by Eva Ericksson. Translated by Julia Marshall. Gecko Press, 2013. First published in Sweden in 2010.
This is one of the sweetest books I've ever read. It's not saccharine, or over the top, just gentle and true to the perspective of a six year old. Dani has a happy life . . . when she can't fall asleep, she counts the times in her life she has been happy. She's nervous about the start of school, but soon makes a new friend. A best friend. She has a warm relationship with her father; her mother has died. This is handled very directly and matter of factly, not a focal point or big issue - which is refreshing. It's sad, but not overpowering.
The big crisis (such as it is) is when her best friend moves away. From Dani's perspective, this is huge. The letters back and forth between the two friends are wonderful. A book about the loveliness of everyday life.
A great first chapter book with appealing illustrations, generous pace between the lines of text, which is of relatively large size, and a nice overall design/feel to this book. Just look at this cover . . . it exudes happiness!
This is one of the sweetest books I've ever read. It's not saccharine, or over the top, just gentle and true to the perspective of a six year old. Dani has a happy life . . . when she can't fall asleep, she counts the times in her life she has been happy. She's nervous about the start of school, but soon makes a new friend. A best friend. She has a warm relationship with her father; her mother has died. This is handled very directly and matter of factly, not a focal point or big issue - which is refreshing. It's sad, but not overpowering.
The big crisis (such as it is) is when her best friend moves away. From Dani's perspective, this is huge. The letters back and forth between the two friends are wonderful. A book about the loveliness of everyday life.
A great first chapter book with appealing illustrations, generous pace between the lines of text, which is of relatively large size, and a nice overall design/feel to this book. Just look at this cover . . . it exudes happiness!