**A New York Times Best Children's Book of 2021
**
A Publishers Weekly High-Concept Picture Book for Children
A CCBC (Cooperative Children's Book Center) Choices Best Children's
Book, 2022
**
**
Is there any creature in the world happier than a dog with a ball in its
mouth? Maybe a cat in the sun? Or a kid eating ice cream? This gentle
book, with its soft and evocative colored pencil illustrations, is
philosophical in its approach to the millions of forms that happiness
can take, as well as the contrasting disappointments and sorrows that we
encounter as we navigate our lives.
Starting from the happiness of waking up into a brand-new day, the book
goes on to explore the kinds of relationships and contrasts that play
out between our feelings and experiences. These contrasts play out
beautifully across the page from left to right, and across a couple of
long gatefold pages. Whether it's the nervousness of a beginning paired
with the happiness of a middle; the indignity of a cut against the
happiness of a scab; the boredom of nothing to do contrasted with the
happiness of nothing to do; or the divide of mine against the happiness
of our, these pages challenge the reader to think about daily activities
and experiences and the feelings they conjure. They also lead us to
think about the substance of our happiness, and what the ingredients of
it might be. Written with subtlety and nuance and illustrated in pencil,
pen and watercolor with great tenderness, The Happiness of a Dog with a
Ball in its Mouth is a gentle, fun, and philosophical read, with which
one can start and end the day.
