The Big Book of Happy uses a large format to parallel the activities of animals and children. A red-haired girl and dark-haired boy take turns mimicking the activities of animals "Owls are happy when they are hooting./I am happy when I am singing." The art is bold and colorful with small details of animals, colors, and shapes to point out.
The companion book, The Big Book of Silly feels like it was aimed at a slightly older audience. It features animals in increasingly silly situations and invites the reader to compare their own silly behavior: "I just want to be silly...like a rhinoceros wearing red polka dot pajamas and eating three hundred jelly beans before bed!" While this title had equally vibrant illustrations, it did not have a cohesive structure and just seemed to meander through the various scenarios.The books are about 12 x 9 inches and I'm a little doubtful about how they will hold up to a lot of use as the cardboard feels thin and bendy. Each book has 8 pages.
Verdict: I really only liked Happy, personally. However, the large size of the books makes them a great choice for storytime, especially with the activities listed in Happy. I strongly recommend purchasing The Big Book of Happy and, if it's very popular and holds up, you might want to add The Big Book of Silly for fans.
The Big Book of Happy
ISBN: 9781499800906; Published 2015 by Little Bee Books; Borrowed from another library in my consortium
The Big Book of Silly
ISBN: 9781499800913; Published 2015 by Little Bee Books; Borrowed from another library in my consortium
1 comment:
We received review copies of both of these at my house, and only kept Happy. My older daughter was obsessed with it from around 12 months to 18 months, but she didn't like Silly, and neither did I.
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