Join Harry at the beach! Look up to the clouds and what do you see?
A delightful, lyrical tale of the emotions that family love, mindfulness and imagination can inspire!
Harry and his father and their dog, Jasper, spend a day together at the beach observing the ever-changing shapes of the clouds. Harry sees different shapes and gives each cloud an emotion. ‘That cloud is angry’. ‘That cloud is happy’. ‘That cloud is lonely’. He watches as the clouds slowly drift across the sky and transform. Harry shows us that emotions are like clouds. They change shape and roll by. He feels overwhelmed with a feeling and watches it change and drift out of view. Some days are wonderful, filled with sunlight, inviting us to play outside. Other days are cloudy and stormy … but the sun will always return to brighten our day!
Read Blog from Robert on Kids Book Review here
Review –
What a beautiful book to help children and parents understand visually how troubles can make us sad, which is OK, but how we can always work to brighten up a day. Loved it
Review –
My eyeballs – I opened up this book with a little of an idea of what I might find but the images – illustrations combined with real images PLUS clouds created in all shapes and sizes. Amazing well done Nancy Bevington! Loved it all story, images – will become a read and read again.
Reviewer –
As an early childhood teacher I cannot wait to have a group of children gathered around exploring the story and all the details in the illustrations. I really think this book will allow us to really talk about how we can feel – or – at a minimum a great excuse for finding our own cloud animals!
Mavis Butler –
I have read this book over and over to my son Jed and he now carries with him wherever we go – he is hoping to someday see some of the cloud shapes in the sky. It’s a wonderful book and lets me talk to him about how sometimes we can get real cranky or unhappy but we don’t have to stay that way. It’s a keeper
Di Lanigan –
The illustrations are insane. the mix of real and illustrated and created is just off the charts amazing. This is not a beautiful book it is a crazy beautiful off the charts amazing book.
Jane Clurry –
Received my order of books. The kids and I have declared today best day ever, ever. Thank you.
Barry –
My son loved this!
Zane –
The illustrations are insane lots of fun!
Barbara Braxton, The Bottom Shelf http://thebottomshelf.edublogs.org/ –
Just as the clouds change shape and colour so does Harry’s mood, particularly when Jasper disappears, and Vescio has cleverly mirrored these changes so young readers can understand that while they may be sad and unhappy now, there will come a change to happier times, just as the sun will always return to peek through and fill us with joy and hope again. We just need to be patient and resilient to wait for it. That is the silver lining of clouds.
As well as being an engaging way to help young children understand the cycle of moods and feelings, this is also a wonderful way to build imagination and vocabulary as there are few things more peaceful than lying down and watching the endless patterns of clouds. Harry even touches on the question of what clouds are and why they can’t be touched, so that opens up another avenue of investigation while Bevington’s illustrations of Harry, his father and Jasper superimposed onto real cloudscapes will attract the artistic mind.
Living in a rural landscape with no pollution, reading the clouds to predict the weather and just appreciating their diversity of shape, colour, density and speed is one of the joys of the simple life. This book will connect our kids to these oft-overlooked phenomena while also showing them that there is always hope on the horizon.
Romi Sharp – Just Write for Kids –
Once again, Robert Vescio sweeps us up in his dreamy narrative that fills our hearts with puffs of happiness. Combined with Nancy Bevington’s mixed media art, Happiness is a Cloud is a picture book that represents warmth, light and hope – one that inspires an ease of drifting off into the imagination.
And the illustrations. I thought it was just me being nostalgic and reminiscing on how mesmerised I felt watching the old ‘Dot and the Kangaroo’ back in the day. However, sharing this book with my 7-year-old proved illustrator Nancy Bevington’s pairing of the photographic backgrounds with the flawless infusion of her vivid line and watercolour characters completely enlighten the senses and enliven the imagination. We love how seamlessly her cloud shapes and extra detail add so much depth to the real-life scenery.
Happiness is a Cloud is literally heavenly. With its strong ties to nurturing our children’s resilience, mental health, and taking time to appreciate and find happiness in the world around us, this picture book will lift its early years readers to achieving new emotional heights. Highly recommended.
Julie Facebook –
I bought the book and it is sweet and touching.
Lynndy Facebook –
What an uplifting message – spontaneous, compassionate and encouraging. This is the sort of positive energy the world needs