Cover Image: The Boy Who Illustrated Happiness

The Boy Who Illustrated Happiness

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Member Reviews

The Boy Who Illustrated Happiness is a cute and encouraging children's picture book showing just how one kinda action can impact many more.

I voluntarily received and reviewed a complimentary e/copy of this book which I received from the author/publisher. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

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A beautifully illustrated children's book which teaches the message of doing things which makes us happy as well as passing on happiness, and how making other's happy can make us happy too.

The book was very diverse too, which I think is really important in children's books.

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Thank you NetGalley and Linguacious for a copy of "The Boy Who Illustrated Happiness" in exchange for my honest review.

Ben is late for everything because he is always drawing. He drew everything, everywhere, and for as long as he could. Sometimes he even drew himself to sleep. He imagined that his toothbrush was a paintbrush and his toothpaste was paint. His bathroom mirror was his canvas. At breakfast he drew his plans for the day on his plate. On the school bus he drew on foggy windows.

He started a Happiness Club. You only needed to make someone else happy in order to join the club. Tina made origami figures to make others happy. Lucas made Tina happy by carrying her books home from school. Ben made Lucas happy by drawing a picture for him. Lucas joined the club and made everyone happy by singing.

This story can help parents and educators teach children that you can show your feelings and emotions by drawing them. Whether you are happy or sad, you can draw it. The best way to get a smile is to smile first. Each person has their own way of making others happy and to express their own happiness. Even if you don't speak the same language you can use drawings, words, songs, origami, facial expressions, hand gestures, photographs - there are many ways to make others understand.

Happiness is a powerful language. Grief can also be expressed through drawings. Ben grew into a famous illustrator. He ends all his books with a powerful question: What can you do today to make someone happy?

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I thought this book was beautifully written and illustrated. My 5 year old was not interested past the first few pages. We'll try again when the book comes out and he's a little bit older. 10/10 will recommend to be added to our children's department.

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Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC copy of The Boy Who Illustrated Happiness.

I am always on the lookout for new Social Emotional books for my 3rd grade classroom and this one I will definitely be purchasing. This is about a boy who loves drawing and uses his gift to spread happiness to others. Even when others may not reciprocate, Ben doesn't let that deter him. As others see him sharing his gift, they also choose to share their gifts with others. Ben also has to grapple with the loss of a pet and chooses happiness in the end.

I love how this book teaches self love, being who you are, showing kindness to others, perseverance, dealing with loss, and using your gifts. It packs a huge punch and there are a lot of ways to use this book, nonetheless it's just an enjoyable feel good read.

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A nice, feel good book about a happy boy who loves to draw and spread happiness. This is apparently a true story, though unless I'm missing it, I don't see who the book is actually about. Ben is a famous illustrator, but I couldn't figure out who he is from the book. Who must not have been the point...what he did was.

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Another great read for small children with a great message.

In this book, we learn about Ben's journey of starting his Happiness Club and how drawing brings him happiness. It was a sweet story that focuses on the things my son loves doing which are both drawing and making other people happy. He loved the idea of a Happines Club and kept insisting I should sign him up for the club over the summer.

The illustrations are just so beautiful and engaging. It was also an easy book to read for my young son, which is something I always appreciate. We will be looking for more of the author's books as well!

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This was a sweet book about how making other people happy will make you happy. The art was just okay, and the text was too small, especially for a children's book. Although, I'm not sure if that would change considering that this is an ARC. Overall, it was a cute book with a lovely message. However, it just doesn't come close to books like "Did You Fill Your Bucket Today."

(Thank you Netgalley and IBPA for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)

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This was such a wonderful book! It sends a great message about handling emotions, positivity, and how even simple gestures of kindness can have a substantial and positive impact on others. Even if it's just a smile, random acts of kindness can bring happiness to everyone involved. I loved Ben's creativity that he has at a young age and that he uses that creativity to bring happiness to other people. I thought it was heartening to see everyone having their own way of making others happy and expressing their own happiness. It didn't matter if they all spoke the same language, happiness was its own language and way of communication which I believe is an important thing to remember and acknowledge. You don't have to verbally understand one another to share happiness.
Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read this book.

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This is my first children book I requested on Netgalley. Normally I read other geres but the cover and description caught my attention. The Boy who illustrates Happiness is full of wonderful and beautifully drawn illustrations with a great message. It doesn't matter how you look like or from which country you are, just be kind and bring happiness to each others life. A treat for young readers 😊

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The Boy Who Illustrated Happiness is an adorable book which teaches children the benefits of reaching out to make others happy. It charts the progress of a young artist named Ben who spent his entire life using his talent to make others smile. I greatly enjoyed reading this!

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The book, with pretty illustration, draw my attention. What can we do to make others happy? Ben draws, and his drawings make people happy. Some other makes origami and put a smile on others faces. And there are people with other talents, given especially for them, so they can make others happy.

A good nudge to discover your hidden gems to show others to cheer them up.

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Fun book for children . Very interesting book with a great story and amazing illustrations in it . The ending was really lovely . The characters were amazing and the moral of the story is super important .

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5☆ A Heart Warming and Inspiring Read!


The Boy Who Illustrated Happiness is a wonderful children's book that teaches children about emotions, expressing emotions and the joy of making others feel happy, included and spreading positivity.

Ben loves nothing better than to draw, he likes to use his drawings to express how he is feeling.
One of his favourite things to do is to use his drawings to make other people feel Happy.

That's why he started the Happiness Club. So other people could express their feelings and make other people happy through their creativity. Whether it be helping someone to carry books, origami, singing songs, it all spreads joy and Happiness.

Anyone can join the Happiness Club, no matter where you live, or who you are, the only rules are to spread Happiness.
They communicated with each other through art, pictures, songs, face and hand expressions etc.. so that everyone felt included, no one was left out.

What I really loved about this book was that everyone was included in the Happiness Club, it shows children that it doesn't matter who you are, you should be kind to each other and make people feel welcome and included.

The Boy Who Illustrated Happiness is such a wonderful story that Promotes positivity, kindness, that's it ok to feel emotions such as sadness.
The illustrations are superb and children will be drawn to the eye catching characters and storyline.
I feel this book would be perfect for readers aged 6-9years, younger readers would grasp the idea but would need some help. This is definitely a book that would benefit in schools and libraries.

Overall this book is a Heart Warming and Inspiring Read that I would most definitely recommend!

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I thought this book was lovely! The illustrations were beautiful - so much detail and adventure for children to look at and dive into. The story itself was lovely, Ben forms the happiness club to help others and this would be a great discussion piece to use to speak to children about coping strategies and what they can do to make them happy. I could imagine planning a series of health and well-being lessons around this book very successfully!

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This was such a refreshing read! Society has been a crazy place the last few years and this makes you stop for a moment and remember the small things like showing acts of kindness to others. It’s an amazing book to read with your child and a good topic to cover. Ben is a great role model! I highly recommend this book!

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Super cute wonderful book full of lovely illustrations. Sweet story about a little boy who wants to share his happiness through his art. Great book to share with kids learning to express themselves.

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Absolutely beautiful art and the story was so very sweet. I like the perspective in which we were told the story. A great way to learn how to share happiness.

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The Boy Who Illustrated Happiness is a sweet story with cute cartoonish illustrations about a boy named Ben who loves to draw. Drawing makes him feel better when he is sad, and his drawings also make other people happy. One day, he decides he wants to start a club about kindness and making others happy. It becomes very popular. I felt like although this book had a positive message, it kind of jumped from the middle of the book to the end as if the author ran out of paper or wasn't sure how to continue the story. First it was talking about how he makes this Happiness Club and then he's suddenly an adult who is illustrating books? I just felt like that was a very strange transition and it made the book less enjoyable.

Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated in any other fashion for the review and the opinions reflected below are entirely my own. Special thanks to the publisher and author for providing the copy.

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The book was a little long and wordy, making it difficult to adapt for my SpEd classroom. I did like the message (spread happiness, work through emotions) and think it could be a useful tool to use with the Zones of Regulation. I liked that the book incorporated children from different races,, ethnicities and those with disabilities. The illustrations were beautiful. Overall, i think the message of the story is great!

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