Fern adores her Nanna, especially her smile, but Nanna doesn’t smile much anymore.

““It’s like the joy has gone out of her life.”
“What’s joy?” asked Fern.
“Joy is what makes your heart happy and your eyes twinkle.””

Fern takes it upon herself to find some joy and borrow it for Nanna. All afternoon, Fern feels the “whooosh! of joy” but no matter how hard she tries, her catching bag remains empty.

Dejected, Fern returns to her Nanna and tells her about her mission and all of the joy she found.

I really liked the relationship between Fern and her Nanna. I loved that Fern was so determined to find some joy for her Nanna but at the same time it saddened me that she was so aware of Nanna’s depression and that she felt responsible for making her feel better.

Fern’s ideas for trying to essentially bottle joy were adorable. I loved the solution: time and connection with a loved one.

Isabelle Follath’s illustrations complemented the story. The characters are expressive and colour is used well to highlight different emotions. I particularly liked the colours and shapes used to depict joy when Fern is attempting to collect it.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and words & pictures, an imprint of Quarto Publishing Group - Frances Lincoln Children’s Books, for the opportunity to read this picture book.

Gorgeous book, delightful to contemplate. Fern's Nanna isn't feeling very happy, so Fern seeks to capture joy and take it back to Nanna. It's a sweet tale of a young child desperately wanting to help her grandmother feel better. As Fern tells Nanna about how she failed to capture joy for her, Nanna begins to feel joy herself again.

Maybe not the most realistic of scenarios, but sufficient for young children to understand that sadness, grief, depression, what have you, can make things look pretty bleak and colorless. Ultimately, Fern sees that it wasn't the butterflies or giggles that made Nanna happy. Rather, it was time spent together that brought joy back into Nanna's life.

I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received through Netgalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC regulations.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

What a beautiful book! Fern wants to bring joy to her grandma and learns many things along the way. The pictures are so gorgeous and vibrant. Anyone who has a close relationship with a grandparent will also connect with this book. I highly recommend it.

I thought this book did a good job of talking about depression in a way the kids could understand. The pictures and use of color was beautiful. I loved the message and will use it in my classroom to start a discussion with my students about joy and capturing joy.

Exuberant! I enjoyed this tale of a little girl trying to capture joy to cheer up her grandma. Sweet story! Loved the illustrations. too. I think Isabelle Follath captured the joy perfectly! Great story!

Beautiful Story about a Young girl Name Fern who adores her Grandma. She just wants to see her grandma happy. So she and her grandma go to the park and try to find joy. This book explores the different emotions with Fern and her grandma throughout the book by using beautiful drawings to show emotions.

I rate this book a four because of Fern. It is so beautiful how she cares about her grandma. Also, the illustrations are just stunning in this book. I love how one minute they are bright and beautiful then the next they are dark and moody. This is just such a beautiful book for any little kid.

Adorable, sweet, and important, this story gives us a child-sized view into depression and relationships. Fern's grandmother has been difficult to cheer up lately, so Fern strives to bring her joyful things. In the end, it's Fern's presence that helps lift her grandmother's spirits. Though, as an adult, we know that depression can't be cured by simply trying to be happy, author Corrinne Averiss does an excellent job showing how someone who is struggling to enjoy the things they used to can be brought a bit of light and joy from the cheerful presence of someone they love. It'll make an kid want to run and hug their grandmother.

What an elegant and beautiful children's story. About finding joy and sharing it with those you love. The message is simple, the wording is easy for young children to understand and follow along to, and the illustrations are colorful and gorgeous. This will make a lovely bedtime story, or perfect for story time in daycare or classrooms. I will be picking up a few copies for my niece and nephews.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I truly appreciate it!

Joy is a difficult concept for children to learn. This book helps children understand what brings joy and how to share the joy, Fern's grandmother is ill and doesn't act how she use to or bake. She spends her days resting in her chair. Fern is saddened to see her grandmother so changed. It wonderful to read all the things that bring joy to Fern and how sharing her experience brings the joy back to her grandmother.

Joy by Corrinne Averiss is a heartwarming, sweet tale of a young girl's attempts to bring joy back to her Nana's life. Thinking about the kinds of things that bring her joy, Fern decides to make a joy-catching kit and go capture some joy for her Nana. Fern soon discovers that you can't trip joy. It must be spontaneous and internal. And she learns that she herself is what brings joy to her Nana. This was such an adorable book! All of my cubs, young and old alike, loved it. As did the adults! A perfect book for teaching life skills, and about the emotion of joy.

***Many thanks to Netgalley and Quarto Publishing for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

‘Joy is what makes your heart happy and your eyes twinkle.’

So perfect a sentiment and such happiness found from sorrow is a beautiful thing.

This is a beautifully illustrated, uplifting and magical book for young readers. The illustrations alone make this book worthy of placement in a KS1 classroom but the story raises it to being a book which should be shared as a whole class reading experience.

Beautiful.

This was a wonderful heartwarming story about finding and sharing joy with others.
Fern loves her Nanna, especially her smile. But recently it seems like she's lost her smile and mum says it's like all the joy has gone from her. Fern wants to bring it back. She sets out creating a joy catching kit and heads off to the park to find some to take back for Nanna. But it's harder than she thinks. Will she be able to collect any to take back?

The illustrations perfectly capture the happiness and the sadness of the tale and the whooshes of joy are so brightly coloured it's hard not to smile. The language used is simple but effective, making it a story that children could understand easily.

It really got me thinking about what makes me joyful and how I capture those moments to share with others. I'd definitely consider using it in school for the same purpose with even the youngest children.

Thank you to the publishers for giving me access to a digital copy of this beautiful picture book for review.

A lovely story of a little girl trying to bring joy to her grandma. She learns that it is easy to see, but not to catch. But with grams help she will indeed catch what she is seeking. The story was wonderful and the illustrations eye catching, and a perfect match to the tone of the book.

From the front cover (the undies if you will), I fell in love with Joy. Fern has an unstoppable spirit and she longs to bring her Nanna joy. There is joy so many places, but it is so hard to catch.
For children, this book is a lovely reminder that they are often the ones to bring in joy into other's lives. For adults, it serves as a reminder that sometimes all our elders need is for us to talk to them and that brings them more joy than we could imagine. I loved the story of Fern and Nanna and look forward to using in this school year.

Fern loves her Nanna and notices when the joy seems to drain from her life. She sets out to catch some joy for her grandmother but, of course, it's not that simple. Fern tells her grandmother about her adventures which seems to lift her spirits... Later, they go to the park together and find lots of joy all around them.
The illustrations were cute and funny (the mantlepiece mice) while also being intuitive and sensitive to the emotions being experienced. I loved the grey juxtaposed against the colourful.
My only concern is that this story might set young people up to feel responsible for the emotions of others when actually they have little or no control over how others feel, especially not adults.
I liked the almost onomatopoeic words... "whoosh!", "bounce", "chuckle chuckle", etc.

A little girl’s grandma goes from joyful to joyless in the span of a page. The girl’s determined to catch some joy and take it to grandma, so she corrals a bunch of catching stuff and heads off to the local park, where everyone’s having a great time. But of course it’s not that easy. . . or is it?
Bright colors fill the pages, leaving little room for words.
It’s either a reminder to adults of the happiness kids can bring, or a primer for kids. Either way, it works.

There's just something about a bright, colorful, happy book cover that make it irresistible to me.

Fern’s Nanna has not been herself of late. And when Mom remarks that all the joy seems to have gone out of her life, Fern decides to fetch the joy back. With her catching-kit at the ready, she goes to the park and finds joy in all sorts of unusual places. Whooooshh! But Fern soon realises that joy doesn’t fit in a bag, or a box, or a can! How will she manage to bring some back to Nanna?

This is an amazing book that teaches empathy, the power and illusiveness of joy, and caring for elderly family. I loved reading this and remembering how much joy my elderly family members have gotten from Ana and remembering that special connection I had with them as a child too. It's really a book for a child and the adult reading it as well.

The illustrations in this book, despite being amazing and beautiful, help further the idea that joy cannot be put in a container, it's something much different. It's often hard to convey feelings to children, but this book is a good representation of emotions.

This is a sweet books with beautiful illustrations. A great read-aloud for any age child! Would be great for beginning a conversations about emotions and feelings of sadness in children.

What a sweet story to read with a grandparent. Illustrations are vibrant, making the words in the book come alive!

A beautifully told and illustrated fable about the importance of recognizing, and sharing, joy with those around you.