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

This was an interesting idea that could have played out just a little better. I think it did an okay job of showing that the suitcase is a heavy burden. Kids might not make that connection thought. The pictures were bright and colorful but not my favorite style.

This book is a fantastic illustration of what it means to bottle up grief, anxieties, and other hardships. It follow the main character Felix who carries around a suitcase full of his worries. This story has a fantastic message for readers of all ages; especially boys and men who are often told to "man up" and not show their emotions. The writing was beautiful, and the artwork was full of stunning colors to keep children's attention. Fantastic overall!

A very effective story to illustrate depression to young children. Felix walk through life with a large, heavy suitcase filled with his sorrows- the loss of his grandmother, bullying from his friends, angry words from his father. The background is colored in darker tones, mirroring his emotions. After a difficult uphill climb, he lays down in the shade and falls asleep. A young boy comes along and opens the suitcase, releasing all the heavy emotions Felix has been carrying. Felix, overwhelmed, cries, feeling better once the storm of tears is over. He thanks the boy (who looks suspiciously like a younger version of him), and goes on his way, seeing all the beauty around him again, and engaging with those around him. The illustrations here have brightened, and become more lively. Though the emotions here are told with metaphor and through the symbolism of the illustrations, it should be easy for young ones to understand and relate to.

#FelixAftertheRain #NetGalley

A clever children's book about depression, keeping feelings in, and how to release them. Felix After the Rain simplifies the idea of holding in our emotions by having our lead boy's emotions in a heavy suitcase that he carries all around. Some may feel this is too simple; but for a 5-year-old I think it's perfect.
The resolution is simplified as well; talk about your feelings and emotions, what upsets you, etc. and you'll feel better. It's as easy as any concept comes; and yet the majority of adults know it's really hard in practice to open up and let go.
Dunja Jogan has done a lovely job of conveying this complex topic and bringing it down to a simple idea any child can articulate. I think all children should be told that it's good to talk about their feelings, even the scary or dark ones, and that it's always okay to let them go when you're done.
Felix After the Rain really resonates with me as it speaks to those ugly thoughts and feelings in a simple way that I could see opening up a conversation with a child. I know I would struggle to find the words to explain how everyone feels poorly sometimes and what can be done to help. Luckily Felix can help any parent or caregiver a method to begin the conversation about the baggage that we all carry throughout life.

<i>Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.</i>

My Thoughts
I loved Felix; and totally understood how he felt from the very first. While I am most often upbeat, optimistic, and cheerful, there are moments and times in everyone’s life that we feel we are carrying a heavy bag, and we simply cannot shake it off. That bag of all those “heavy feelings” – for whatever reason – that takes over everything else, is the theme of this book.

The truly unique and bright illustrations complement the feels perfectly though I definitely needed to go over the pages a second time to really understand what it was about. So while this is a really wonderfully done book – theme and illustration wise – it might simply go over the heads of the intended younger audiences without ample dialogue and discussions with their parents or caregivers.

In Summary
All said and done, this book is a great resource to help initiate discussions and conversations with young ones about those “heavy feelings” we all tend to carry – old and young alike, and how to lighten ourselves of them (even if just a little).
A 4.5 stars

Disclaimer: Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the eARC of the book; these are my honest opinions after reading this book.

This is a cute book that could definitely provoke discussion. It does make it all seem a little simple, but if it is part of a larger discussion on dealing with grief and depression for children, it could definitely be an excellent tool for getting them to open up! Really pretty illustrations as well.

Winner of the English Pen Award (New & Exciting Literature into English) and part of Tiny Owl Publishing’s Hope in a Scary World series, "Felix After the Rain", takes on a tough subject, dealing with the death of a loved one, and distills it to its most basic essence: dealing with the baggage left behind. This achingly beautiful book vividly illustrates how a child doesn’t cope, then does, then succeeds.

Felix’s despair is literally trapped in a suitcase he carries with him, barely managing to push it along. After a chance meeting with a boy at the top of a hill (The spirit of his grandmother? His other self while he slept? Something else?), Felix’s despair is released, the storm is weathered and the journey down the hill is easier. Felix is once again happy.

The imagery in this book, both literal (Jogan’s illustrations are masterful, they ache with both pain and joy) and figurative (Hellewell’s prose is sparse yet speaks volumes) lends this book to a discussion on multiple levels. Yes, this is a book that you can easily sit and read with a child that has suffered a loss, of any type. But it’s more than that, it’s a book that teaches loss is inevitable; loss is something that must and can be overcome.

Jogan & Hellewell employ the hill metaphor subtly. There is no great peak to climb; only a modest hill. Indeed, while your eyes are trained on the baggage, you may even lose sight of the hill you are climbing.

The recommended ages for the book are set at five to seven-years old. And, for that age, it works, given the usual caveat that depending on the child more or less assistance is required. I would feel comfortable, however, giving this book to an adult friend who is grieving as well. It allows one to grieve, yes. It also allows one to hope, love and move forward.

Thank you so much to the publisher for approving my request on Netgalley!

I read this to my almost 2 year old son because he loves books just like me. I’ll be honest, I’m not really sure what was going on in the book. It started out very dark and then had a happy ending. I know this is an ARC, but there were also a lot of typos. On LOC 27, I could not read half of what was being said. Perhaps it was meant to be this way since Felix was feeling overwhelmed?
I thought it had a good message, but probably not something I’d buy in store or gift someone else.

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

I read this book with my three children and while we all really enjoyed the concept of it as well as the captivating illustrations, we somehow felt it a bit lacking. Cut short, maybe? It's a children's book, so that it's short and sweet isn't a problem, but we felt it distinctly missing something around where Felix's suitcase is opened up, his emotional storm released. As a mom and educator, I'd have liked to have seen some even cursory mention of how it was that Felix was able to go from feeling bogged-down by his emotions to feeling light as a balloon. My elementary age children, for their part, were confused as to where the suitcase went! (I do like the symbolism of emotions residing in a suitcase one carries around with them, getting heavier and heavier as they're collected, but it clearly went over the heads of the target readers!)

Regardless of that quibble as to feeling the book was a little less than it COULD be, we all did enjoy the book overall, and value its exploration of emotional literacy. I think it's a great little read, and as I happen to have a son named Felix, I will likely add it to our own collection just for the title character and wonderful illustrations.

It is so refreshing to read this book. A young boy named Felix is at a loss, stuffing his feelings into his suitcase. This is a cute reference to the emotional baggage that many of us may carry. It’s interesting that unlike the original Slovenian and other translations, the English-language title foregoes ‘baggage’ in favor of ‘rain’; perhaps the latter is a more child-friendly term to relate to being sad. Regardless, Dunja Jogan’s dreamy illustrations and Olivia Henwell’s rendering of Jogan’s text help readers to navigate emotions and experiences that are often stigmatized in the wider society.

Felix is carrying a burden — a heavy burden. All of his pain and worries are packed into a suitcase he is carrying with him — the loss of his grandmother, hurtful things his father said to him, etc. But after a good rain, he’s able to release his feelings and feel much lighter. The story is sweet and important. However, the text will need some discussion to help young children unpack the meaning. This will work well for children who’ve faced trauma and who need some nudging on how to express their hurt and grieve. My thanks to Netgalley and Tiny Owl Publishing for sending me an ARC in exchange for my honest review. I have seen at least three different dates of publication, but I believe May 15th is correct, so it should be available for ordering right away.

I received an electronic ARC from Myrick Marketing & Media, LLC through NetGalley.
The concept behind the story is important but the execution was lacking. Readers are thrust into the story of Felix and his suitcase with no explanation provided. It works as Jogan goes on to share about the various feelings Felix has after events like his grandmother's death. However, young readers may not make the connection to the suitcase being a repository for his emotions. It could work as a family read to talk about how we deal with our feelings.
The lovely illustrations are crafted to look simple but there is so much detail involved.

Written sensitively by Slovenian author Dunja Jogan who also illustrated this book, and translated into English by Olivia Hellewell, this is a story about carrying too much baggage, represented literally by poor Felix, who has this huge dark suitcase he feels forced to carry around with him, and every time something goes wrong, the weight of it gets worse, but as he travels, and worries he might not be able to pursue his dreams while dragging this heavy weight around with him, he learns that he can let his baggage go. It's a beautifully told story and finely illustrated, and I commend it as a worthy read.

This story, about a boy named Felix who is carrying his sadness around in a suitcase, had beautiful illustrations. And I really liked the beginning part of the story. The beginning part was so beautiful that it made me cry. But then, the end part was kind of confusing and a little bit disappointing.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sweet book about the baggage we carry that weighs us down.

Felix carries a suitcase of sadness. A beautiful metaphor for life with depression. The problem is, Felix didn’t face it himself. Someone else opened it for him. And he felt better. To me, that doesn’t seem sustainable. I wish Felix would have opened the suitcase himself and felt the emotions and found freedom that way. Still a beautiful book. Beautifully illustrated and a great conversation starter.

Felix has been through a hard time and has a large black suitcase that follows him around. One day, a young boy opens the suitcase and releases everything inside. All the dark feelings Felix has carried around with him are gone, and he's is finally able to see how happy and great life can be!

I thought this book had an important message-especially for kids. Overcoming emotions, working through them and letting go in a positive and healthy way is an important lesson to teach. However, the book didn't really touch on that for me. I found the story started very suddenly, without enough backstory, and that was a bit confusing. Then, Felix didn't really work through his feelings, he carried them along until someone else let them out. I don't think that's the best message as it doesn't work like that in real like. However, the illustrations were great and it is nice to see a young boy go on a journey of emotions.

This book is about a heavy topic of depression and sadness. A young man carries a heavy bag filled with sad events and emotions. While the illustrations were well crafted, I didn't connect to this story. It was short and quick but I think it lacked depth and backstory. It is important to have topics like these discussed and viewed by children. However I didn't like the analogy that this story created for depression and the battle it entails.

A cute little story about how a suitcase is a metaphor for "heavy feelings" and how to deal with it.

I’ve had the great pleasure working with this book and the publisher. It’s a fantastic book and I’m very happy I’ve had the opportunity to promote it.