Together Again: A Story About Joy by Kochka is a cute story about sibling love and joy. I just reviewed Together Again by Kochka. #TogetherAgain #NetGalley

4.5★
“It doesn’t matter, if we’re big or small,
we carry the same emotions in our hearts.
They rest within us like seeds, waiting to grow.
This is the story of how joy grew one day, in Elliot’s heart.
…………………………………………………………….. Kochka”

Elliot is a little fellow for whom time passes oh so slowly! Lucy is coming to stay for the holidays now that school is over.

My Goodreads and Amazon reviews include illustrations.

Goodreads caption for Picture 1:
“Elliot loved Lucy, and Lucy loved Elliott.”

It is mentioned only once in passing that Lucy is his half-sister, and it is not clear whether she lives with Elliot when she’s not at school. It is also not mentioned in the notes for parents at the back, but I’m glad it’s been included, because it gives a starting point for any families that do need a way to introduce this to the conversation with their children. Whatever their relationship, it is a joyous one!

Goodreads caption for Picture 2:
“Elliot loved to play chase with Lucy. When she caught him, she always shouted, ‘Take that, you scallywag!’”

How can he possibly go to sleep? He does, but he’s so excited he’s up before the dogs and the cats and the birds. The city may be asleep, but Elliot is getting dressed!

Goodreads caption for Picture 3:
“He picked out his favourite trousers – they were the ones Lucy liked best, too!”

Waiting is almost more than he can bear. He pushes a chair to the window and vows to keep watch.

Goodreads caption for Picture 4:
“Gently, so as not to wake anyone, Elliot moved his chair to the window and waited for the sun to come up.”

Eventually, Elliot’s mother finds him up and convinces him to come have some breakfast and make some decorations to welcome Lucy. He draws and paints and asks if she’s almost here yet. He puts some of his artwork in her room and then sits down on her bed, yawning and cuddling Lucy’s soft toy dog.

You can see where this is going, right?

Goodreads caption for Picture 5:
“Then quickly and quietly, he lay back and fell fast asleep.”

Then, he wakes with a start!

“‘Elliot, Elliot! Lucy is here!’ came a shout.”

Goodreads caption for Picture 6:
“His heart leapt and a wave of joy washed over him!”

Finally! She’s here!

“’LUCY!’”

“‘Come here, you scallywag!’ she replied. They jumped into each other’s arms and felt their hearts warming like they were filled with sunshine. They were together again.”

This is a lovely, happy little book, and I liked the suggestions at the end by Louison Nielson, Clinical psychologist and Psychotherapist, advising us to remember that children feel joy in their first year. We may be less spontaneous ourselves, but we should remember and talk about joy more often than just birthdays and special holidays.

Here is the last page with the advice.

Goodreads caption for Picture 7:
“FOR PARENTS...WHAT IS JOY

I share photos, because I think people buying children's picture books want to browse through them, read them in a bookshop or library, and then decide whether they are right for their kids.

This story is fine, but nothing stands out or sticks with me after reading it. The illustrations are cute, and you could probably use it to have a discussion with kids, but I'd prefer other books to this one on the topic of joy.

Joy, is the most wonderful feeling. This is a story of a boy who waited for his sister to come back home. Anticipations gives you bubbly feeling, and can't wait for the day to come. Remember those moments of joy? Heartwarming, right?

As usual, this book will have a practical corner for parents. What to do to help your children know that feeling, and how to experience it often.

~ Thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review ~

3.5 / 5 stars

There's a lot to love about "Together Again: A Story About Joy." Elliot is a little boy who is so excited for his older half-sister Lucy's return during the holiday break that he can't sleep properly, and suffers the consequences the next day! Elliot's affection for his sister is really sweet, and the adorable and simple illustrations bring the characters to life in a surprisingly effective way.
My main issue with this story is that it's not involved and reads more like a pamphlet for parents than a picture book for children. The information at the back of the book is actually really insightful, and if it was advertised primarily as a guide for adults rather than a book for children, I'd have no qualms about giving this a higher rating. But as it is, I personally don't think that this story is long enough nor involved enough to keep most children entertained. Maybe super young kids between the ages of 3-4 will like it because of the lovely illustrations, but beyond that I feel like this would end up being passed up for other picture books come story time.
That said, I still actually would recommend this for parents to read, because joy in youngsters is a wonderful trait.

Summary:
Recommended age range: 3-4
Pros: colourful, simple illustrations; loveable protagonist
Cons: more informative for parents than it is entertaining for children

It was cute and nice, but nothing exceptional. It's an easy to forget picture book and I find it hard to believe the little ones will want to revisit it.

Together Again is the very sweet story of toddler Elliot. He's eagerly awaiting his half-sister Lucy's arrival for the holidays.

He waits and waits, and gets up early to make sure he's ready to greet her. It's very cute, seeing how much joy Elliot gets from spending time with his sister.

The illustrations are full of soft lines, with a limited colour palette against white pages. Artist Sophie Bouxom as added so much personality to Elliot, his parents and Lucy through line, colour and flow.

There's also some advice from psychologist Louison Nielman to help parents understand and embrace the joy their kids are experiencing, and create some in their own lives.

Honestly, this is a very cute picturebook, and would make an adorable addition to a family library - particularly for those with siblings.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* What a cute book! love that it centers around half siblings!

A cute story of brother and sister. Children are above all materialistic things. They are free from concepts of older people. They follow their heart and emotions. They love each others for being there not for any motive or benefit. It is such a cute story with cute artwork.
Elliott waits for her sister lucy to visit him.

This was a lovely book that expressed the joy a boy was feeling when his half-sister was coming home after the school year. Elliot was so excited about seeing Lucy and we got to see the different stages of excitement - reminiscing memories, boredom while waiting, anxious for the day to come, staying up all night.

I love how the illustrations in this book are simple yet effective. As a learning resource teacher I like seeing books that are not overly stimulating. This book contains simple drawings and colours that aren’t bright/overwhelming.

The story is relatable to so many families and I like how it talks about a sibling coming for the summer. There are so many family dynamics that students have/experience that I think it’s important they know they’re not alone.

I also like how the author included why joy is important and how children express joy.

Another sweet book in this series of discussing the importance of teaching kids how to express their feelings with words.

As a reader, I could feel Elliot's excitement while awaiting for Lucy. The illustrations were also cute and it was fun following him around the house.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was adorable. The simple silhouettes and limited color palette reminded me of a vintage toy ad. The story was cute, and would be a good way to teach children about missing relatives, but then being able to spend time with them again.

Together Again: A Story About Joy is a positive book with sweet illustrations by Kochka.

If you want a book full of pure love and positivity, this book is it. Little Elliott can't wait to see his half sister Lucy. This book is so wholesome and sweet it will give you a cavity. It's everything we need in a sometimes too negative world. Elliott's thrills and excitement is over the top and amazing. It reminds me of the pure joy, anticipation and innocence of childhood.

The illustration style is unique and not something I've seen a lot of. I really liked the cartoon-y style with short bursts of colour. I'd like to see more books like this! The book definitely stood out in that regards.

Three out of five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, words & pictures and Quarto Publishing Group for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

I love this book. Elliot is over-the-moon happy because his half-sister Lucy is coming home and he adores her! They share a special bond of love and he can't wait for her arrival tomorrow.

He finds it hard to sleep and is up even before the sun. He perches at the window waiting eagerly, watching and dreaming about giving his big sister a great big welcome home hug. The waiting time drags on and on so he decides to help it move along more quickly by creating fancy decorations for Lucy's room to surprise her and make her feel special when they finally reunite.

"Together Again" is about joy and love. The illustrations are simple, kid-friendly and full of emotion. This heartwarming story describes how difficult it is to wait for an epic event to take place in one's life when you are little ( and big too!). I love books with happy endings and the fact that the author includes a helpful section at the end for adults. I highly recommend this book.

This is a sweet book. Right off the bat, I loved the illustrations. They are perfect for a young kid- not too busy, just the right amount of color, and the words are situated in a way that doesn’t distract from them.
When the story begins, the little boy is waiting for his sister to come home from school for a visit. I love that these two siblings have quite the age difference. You don’t see that in many stories, and it’s always good to show diverse family relations to young kids who may or may not have them. The sister is also the boy’s half sister.
The boy wakes up super early, on accident, and gets ready the day. When his mom wakes up, he is ready to decorate the house for his sister’s arrival, and accidentally falls asleep in her room. When he wakes up, his sister is home, and he is so happy he jumps for joy!
This book would be so great for little kids, especially when talking about things that bring us joy and connecting with the text.

This is a cute book about the love of siblings and having to wait to see them sometimes. The illustrations are really cute and simple, and they reminded me of books from when I was a kid. The parent section at the back of the book about joy and how to talk about it with kids is really cool and interesting.

A solid 3 star. Talks about emotions and what joy means. I didn't find anything special, but it's relatable enough to kids.

I am completely and utterly in love with this book! Together Again fills a niche that has long been left empty in the world of children's books. Despite half of all marriages ending in divorce and families including all sorts of compositions, there are very few books that normalize step and half siblings who live apart from one another. When books do depict stepsiblings, they are often shown as villains'.

Kochka masterfully weaves a relatable story of a young child eagerly awaiting his older halfsibling coming home for the holidays. Not only does the author explore a positive half-sibling attachment, but also manages to perfectly describe how difficult it is for a young child to wait when excited.

The illustrations honor the spirit of the words and keep the reader eagerly turning pages. I cannot wait to add this book to my personal collection and fully intend to add it as a therapeutic resource for blended and blending families.

This book was super sweet and I really enjoyed it. My daughters enjoyed it as well. The illustrations were awesome and the story was beautiful.

Review to come March 16th to blog/goodreads/etc.

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

I just couldn't resist this very adorable looking and sounding book. I even tried a preview and well that made me want to read it more. I love stories about siblings especially when they have a great and sweet relationship.

Meet Elliot. He is a tiny little boy who loves his half-sister Lucy A LOT, yes, this needs caps. Apparently his sister is away to the school (which is still something that always seems odd to me, I guess cultural differences/different in countries and education) and he misses her a lot, but she is coming home soon and he is very excited which made me so happy. It was just super cute to see him bounce around, remember all the fun things, and laugh.

He is even so excited that he cannot sleep and wakes up at an ungodly hour. That just had me aww-ing, oh my gosh! And the book just gets cuter and cuter. The ending just had me smiling broadly, it made me happy as well!

I really hope Lucy and Elliot will keep this happy and cute relationship as they both grow up!

The illustrations are just the cutest. They are simple but show so much emotion and I love how the style fits the book.

I also love the notes at the ending explaining more about Joy and how they can help kids express that and some other tips.

All in all, I would recommend this adorable and heart-warming book to all.