My Heart Fills With Happiness

by Monique Gray Smith, Julie Flett (Illustrator)

Overview

★ "A quiet loveliness, sense of gratitude, and—yes—happiness emanate from this tender celebration of simple pleasures."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

The sun on your face. The smell of warm bannock baking in the oven. Holding the hand of someone you love. What fills your heart with happiness? This beautiful board book, with illustrations from celebrated artist Julie Flett, serves as a reminder for little ones and adults alike to reflect on and cherish the moments in life that bring us joy.

International speaker and award-winning author Monique Gray Smith wrote My Heart Fills with Happiness to support the wellness of Indigenous children and families, and to encourage young children to reflect on what makes them happy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781459809574
Publisher:	Orca Book Publishers
Publication date:	03/01/2016
Pages:	24
Sales rank:	94,889
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 6.90(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	AD280L (what's this?)
Age Range:	1 - 5 Years

About the Author

Monique Gray Smith is an award-winning, bestselling author and public speaker. Her books cover a broad spectrum of ages, topics and emotions. Woven into all of Monique’s writing and her speaking engagements is the teaching that Love is Medicine. Her books include Speaking our Truth: A Journey of Reconciliation, My Heart Fills With Happiness, You Hold Me Up, Lucy and Lola, Tilly: A Story of Hope and Resilience, Tilly and the Crazy Eights, When We Are Kind and I Hope. She has also created the young adult adaptation of Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Monique is Cree and Scottish. She lives with her family on the Traditional Territories of the Lək̓ʷəŋən and WSÁNEĆ Peoples.

Julie Flett is a Swampy Cree and Red River Métis artist and author. She studied fine arts at Concordia University in Montreal and Emily Carr University of Art + Design in Vancouver, British Columbia. She won the Governor General’s Award for Children’s Literature for her work on When We Were Alone by David Robertson, and her book Birdsong won the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award and was shortlisted for the Governor General’s Award. She is the three-time recipient of the Christie Harris Illustrated Children’s Literature Award for Owls See Clearly at Night: A Michif Alphabet, Dolphin SOS and My Heart Fills With Happiness.

Editorial Reviews

★ 11/30/2015
A quiet loveliness, sense of gratitude, and—yes—happiness emanate from this tender celebration of simple pleasures, which features a cast of First Nations children and adults; Smith dedicates the book, in part, “to the former Indian Residential School students and their families.” Short, first-person phrases (“My heart fills with happiness when... I see the face of someone I love”) revel in both solitary and familial activities, building to a direct address to readers: “What fills your heart with happiness?” Flett’s (Little You) crisp-edged paintings blend universal and culturally specific experiences—three children cluster around the oven as bannock bakes, while another boy spots a frog as he walks barefoot through the grass. Up to age 5. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

"An excellent board book for every baby Canadian."

The Toronto Star

"It is a fantastic toddler book that celebrates family and heritage and would be valuable in any collection, especially those of First Nations heritage."

Raising Mom blog

"[A] light, warm and utterly charming book...Highly recommended for families, parents of young children to share with them and to begin conversation and sharing about emotions."

Resource Links

A comforting board book offers young children the opportunity for reflection, and for affirmation, too. Moments of happiness tucked into each and every day celebrated here include time with family, self-expression, and the natural world."

Cooperative Children’s Book Center

"A board book that leaves you feeling cheerful and appreciative of those small moments in life that bring one joy. Recommended."

CM: Canadian Review of Materials

"A celebration of aboriginal culture...but also universal in its message: sometimes it's the simplest things that lift our spirits highest...[The book] is beautiful in both its appearance and its intention."

Quill & Quire

"A board book that leaves you feeling cheerful and appreciative of those small moments in life that bring one joy. Recommended."

CM Magazine

A comforting board book offers young children the opportunity for reflection, and for affirmation, too. Moments of happiness tucked into each and every day celebrated here include time with family, self-expression, and the natural world."

Cooperative Children’s Book Center

★ 03/01/2016
Toddler-PreS—Joyful and tender, this board book celebrates the activities that bring gladness through family and cultural connections. On one spread, three children wait in front of the oven in a modern kitchen ("My heart fills with happiness when…I smell bannock baking in the oven."). The patterns on their clothing are echoed in the kitchen textiles, creating a sense of belonging and completeness. Flett's quietly powerful gouache and digital collage illustrations emphasize the relationships between people through small gestures and touches; the bold colors and simplified compositions increase the impact by stripping away all that is unnecessary. Other things that bring happiness include holding hands, seeing the face of a loved one, singing, drumming, feeling the sun's rays, and listening to stories. All the people appear to be indigenous, although specific groups are not mentioned. The book is dedicated to "former Indian Residential School students and their families." The author and illustrator are strongly connected to their Canadian Aboriginal communities, and the sweet family story has universal appeal. VERDICT A first purchase for all libraries.—Anna Haase Krueger, Ramsey County Library, MN

School Library Journal

2016-06-22
Black-haired, brown-skinned children describe many sources of happiness in this board book, dedicated by the author to "former Indian Residential School students.""My heart fills with happiness when… / I see the face of someone I love // I smell bannock baking in the oven / I sing." Author Smith, who is Cree, Lakota, and Scottish-Canadian, infuses her simple text with the occasional detail that bespeaks her First Nations heritage even as she celebrates universal pleasures. In addition to the smell of bannock, the narrator delights in dancing, listening to stories, and drumming. Cree-Métis artist Flett introduces visual details that further underscore this heritage, as in the moccasins, shawl, and braids worn by the dancing child and the drum and drumsticks wielded by the adult and toddler who lovingly make music together. (The "I drum" spread is repeated immediately, possibly to emphasize its importance, a detail that may disorient readers expecting a different scene.) Although the narrative voice is consistent, the children depicted change, which readers will note by hairstyle, dress, and relative age. The bannock bakes in a modern kitchen, and most of the clothing is likewise Western, emphasizing that these Native Americans are contemporary children. There is nothing in the text that specifically identifies them by nation, however. Specific visuals ground this sweet celebration of simple pleasures. (Board book. 1-3)

Kirkus Reviews