This Joy!

by Shelley Johannes

Overview

Every day is a gift in this exuberant picture book about finding happiness in life’s small moments.

My arms aren’t big enough to hold the whole world . . .
But when I feel this happy, it’s all I want to do!
My voice isn’t loud enough to express this joy!
Why isn’t there a word for feeling this alive?

In this poetic and buoyant story from author-illustrator Shelley Johannes, a young child tries to measure the size of her joy and the depth of her gratitude as she embraces the beauty of the day. Reveling in simple wonders with unbridled enthusiasm, This Joy! celebrates living with arms wide open—because today is a gift!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781419741821
Publisher:	Abrams Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	10/04/2022
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	1,097,296
Product dimensions:	10.70(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Shelley Johannes is the author-illustrator of the Beatrice Zinker, Upside Down Thinker chapter book series. A former architectural designer, she has a fondness for tracing paper, process, and accidental discoveries. She and her family live in Michigan with two feathered friends, Max and Alex, who make every day sunny and birdy. More Than Sunny was her debut picture book.

Editorial Reviews

"A huge dose of joy and a clear reminder to celebrate each day and each other." —Kirkus Reviews

"Beautiful pencil, marker, and crayon illustrations bring to life the joy in the young protagonist’s world, and it is easy to imagine she could be the artist behind the illustrations as she enjoys activities such as finger puppets and playing with blocks. The short, poetic sentences, made up of a mix of upper- and lower-case letters, combine perfectly with the ebullient illustrations."—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

11/01/2022

PreS-Gr 2—A young girl celebrates the world around her and the love within her in a story figuratively bursting with happiness. Enjoying the beauty of nature, from soft green grass to tall trees and sand beneath her feet, the child attempts to express the immense joy she feels within her while she is experiencing these everyday miracles. Sharing that everything is a gift, from being with friends and loved ones to watching birds take flight in the sky, the girl divulges one final secret: although we can't capture every part of the beautiful world in our hands, we can always stretch out our arms and hold on to our loved ones. Beautiful pencil, marker, and crayon illustrations bring to life the joy in the young protagonist's world, and it is easy to imagine she could be the artist behind the illustrations as she enjoys activities such as finger puppets and playing with blocks. The short, poetic sentences, made up of a mix of upper- and lower-case letters, combine perfectly with the ebullient illustrations. The emotions she is so eager to describe come through every lovely page. VERDICT A wonderful reflection on enjoying the amazing world and people around us, this book will have readers young and old smiling in recognition.—Selenia Paz

School Library Journal

2022-07-13
Make this day a joyful one.

A tan-skinned child with dark brown hair in pigtails proclaims that their happiness is too great to be expressed (“My arms aren’t big enough // to hold the whole world…but when I feel this happy, it’s all I want to do!”). Images almost leap off the page: The child is depicted with arms open wide, reaching for a hug, splashing in the water on a summer day, climbing a tree, and swinging. Although the text is written in loose rhyme, each couplet stretches over several pages so the rhyme isn’t always obvious, though the bouncy rhythm of the text is. Illustrations rendered in pencil, pastel, crayon, marker, and Photoshop capture a child’s world full of barefoot outdoor adventures, finger puppets, magnetic alphabet letters on the refrigerator, and music. A diverse group of friends, including a howling dog, join the narrator for a singalong. Tagging along and facilitating this day’s adventure is an older character with the same skin tone and hair color as the child; readers will often just see this character’s hands as they toss the little one into the air and push them on a tire swing. In the end, this adventure is all about the arms and the hugs that reflect the child’s immeasurable happiness and loving relationship with the older person in their life. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A huge dose of joy and a clear reminder to celebrate each day and each other. (Picture book. 3-8)

Kirkus Reviews