My Heart Fills With Happiness. Monique Gray Smith. Illustrated by Julie Flett. Victoria, BC: Orca, 2016. 24 pp., board book, pdf & epub, $9.95 (bb). ISBN 978-1-4598-0957-4 (bb), ISBN 978-1-4598-0958-1 (pdf), ISBN 978-1-4598-0959-8 (epub). Preschool-kindergarten / Ages 1-5. Review by Tanya Boudreau. *** /4

excerpt:

My heart fills with happiness when...

I see the face of someone I love

I smell bannock baking in the oven

I sing

My heart fills with happiness when...

I feel the sun dancing on my cheeks

The First Nations children in this board book talk about happiness. A few of the gouache and digital collage illustrations show a lone boy or girl enjoying a walk through the grass in their bare feet or dancing in traditional clothing, but the majority of the illustrations include family. There are three children listening to an oral story told by an elder and a child being taught how to drum by their father. The few words that appear on the page are decorated with a small illustration that can be found in the full-page illustration that appears next to it. I like how children of all ages are included in the book and that both indoor and outdoor activities are shown. The book also ends with a question the reader and the listener can answer: "What fills YOUR heart with happiness?" My Heart Fills With Happiness is a board book that leaves you feeling cheerful and appreciative of those small moments in life that bring one joy.

Recommended.

Tanya Boudreau is a librarian at the Cold Lake Public Library in Cold Lake, AB.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.

Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

Hosted by the University of Manitoba.

 

Next Review | Table of Contents for This Issue - January 15, 2016.

CM Home | Back Issues | Search | CM Archive | Profiles Archive