AYA and PAPAYA Find Happiness

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Pub Date 21 Jan 2019 | Archive Date 02 Dec 2021

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Description

Morning has broken and as Aya wakes up, something feels different.

As Aya begins to make sense of her feelings, she realises that she has lost her happiness, and so begins her search to find it. Aya and her best friend, Papaya, search up high and down low.

Where has her happiness gone? How can she get it back?

Morning has broken and as Aya wakes up, something feels different.

As Aya begins to make sense of her feelings, she realises that she has lost her happiness, and so begins her search to find it. Aya...


A Note From the Publisher

Father and husband, MQ works in finance and has lived on several continents. He has pursued his passion for writing since focusing on creative writing while studying engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has been collecting art for many years.

Father and husband, MQ works in finance and has lived on several continents. He has pursued his passion for writing since focusing on creative writing while studying engineering at the Massachusetts...


Available Editions

EDITION Ebook
ISBN 9781789019506
PRICE $5.99 (USD)
PAGES 200

Available on NetGalley

Send to Kindle (PDF)

Average rating from 27 members


Featured Reviews

This is a storybook for young readers who may sometimes wake up feeling unhappy. The author illustrates how a little girl finds that feeling of happiness and improves her day. I liked the pictures and the quest the little girl takes to find her happy place. We all need a little bit of that.
Thank you Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Such a cute children's story. The illustrations were colorful and full of life. The story was wonderful and will recommend.

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Review to come tomorrow/this weekend on sources mentioned in my profile.

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

Despite that the blurb pretty much seems to spoil the book (why would you do that?) I wanted to try out this book as it looked (and sounded) adorable.

Meet Aya, and her doll Papaya, she wakes up one day feeling as something is different. But what is different? As her family tries to do things with her, and the day also makes sure it is a lovely day, Aya realises that she lost her happiness. No worries girl, we all have our down days. But I can imagine that, if this is her first time, it is a shock.

But I loved that instead of just sitting down/lying down and doing nothing... she pulled on her happiest clothes and went to find that happiness again. I loved the illustration accompanied that part of the text. Aya looks very determined and ready for anything. I also love seeing her doll wearing exactly the same clothes as Aya.

And yes, she searches everywhere. High, low, in the dark and in the light. Of course, she cannot find it there, and I was happy that she has such wonderful parents who immediately come to her and talk to her. Wow, she certainly had an amazing day yesterday. Dang. So much sparkling, singing, and laughter.

So yes, the blurb spoils the entire plot, and while I did think that is a shame, I still had fun reading this one as there is still enough to discover in this story. Seeing how Aya realises where her happiness is and her just starting the day again was amazing. I wish I could do it as easily as Aya. Just see your happiness and then boom, things are good again.
The ending made me smile, it wasn't a too fun thing for Aya to experience, but now she knows a bit more on how to combat those sad days.

The art was pretty adorable and cute.

All in all, I would recommend this picture book to everyone. I am sure kids will enjoy it a lot and it may help them see how to combat those sad days. They aren't alone, and there is a way to alleviate those sad days.

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A really cute story and message that I would definitely read to my own young girls. We all have days where we wake up not feeling our best, and the author addresses that this happens to kids too. Bright, colorful pictures and an easy to follow, yet attention grabbing story.

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I loved the character of Aya and her trusty side kick Papaya.
It is a little book for children about starting the day.
Children live books and listening to stories and with pictures you can extend the interaction with the child.
The difficulty here is the learning of a possible truth about one’s emotions and the ability to understand that happiness can come from within.
Equally, it implies that if you are not happy one’s like of happiness is not starting the day correctly.
I’m not comfortable with this concept that happy or sad is an internal function of Will counting one’s blessings and being positive.
External factors can weigh heavy on children and they need support to face any given day. To look in a mirror a smile is a start but tears are also part of life and need to be embraced.
Loved Ana as I said and she carries the story and should bring a smile to he young child’s face

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Aimed at children, the book Aya and Papaya Find Happiness sends a good message to anyone. Young Aya wakes up and feels different. She figures out that her happiness is gone and she doesn't know why. Her parents ask when was the last time she felt happy. She thought about it and realized it was yesterday! She thinks of all the things that made her happy yesterday and eventually comes to the realization that her happiness isn't gone; she just needs to wake it up.
The lesson here is that happiness is inside you all of the time - you just have to find it. This message is great for younger readers (ages 4-6 or so) but also those a bit older who are still learning about emotions and where to find them and how to identify them.

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One of my boys has some trouble focusing on the positive things in his life and once one thing goes awry the whole day in his eyes has been terrible. Aya and Papaya Find Happiness is a great book for kids like him to help explain that happiness lies within you. Along with the great lesson this book offers, there are gorgeous illustrations to help kids feel engaged with this story. I recommend this book to anyone with little ones at all, but especially to kids who have struggles with anxiety or negativity.

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A book about happiness, from a different point of view in relation to what we are used to. Aya is a little girl who suddenly misses her happiness. Despite their great efforts, neither herself nor her best friend Papaya (her doll) manage to find the girl's happiness. With the help of her parents, Aya finally regains her happiness in a very simple way: After remembering what made her happy all the previous days of her life, Aya realizes that all that time her happiness was hiding inside her... because it was asleep!So she restarts her day in order to "wake up" her positive feelings.
Although the illustrations corresponds to the text, the graphics are slightly "computerized". But this is a matter of personal taste. On the bright side, they are quite colorful.
Overall, I would highly recommend the book for its meaning and especially for the way it is presented.

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A delightfully brightly illustrated, heart-warming story about learning to find happiness within ourselves, this book charmed my young children. They enjoyed Aya's various expressions and outfits and were drawn into her world from the first page, following her journey very inquisitively and celebrating when she solved the problem at hand.

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This book was so sweet! My 5 year old really enjoyed it and we have reviewed the book over on my blog! Thank you for the book. https://bookdaydreamersblog.wordpress.com/2019/02/09/aya-and-papaya-find-happiness-reviewed-with-my-5-year-old/

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I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own - and well - my four year old daughters.

Having recently read and reviewed a couple of other childrens books with my daughter, I knew that when more books become available my daughter would enjoy reading it.

Aya and Papaya Find Happiness is a story about a young girl who is convinced she lost her happiness and goes about retracing her steps to find out where exactly she last had her happiness.
This is a sweet story with a great lesson to be learnt. The pictures are colourful and the story is easy to follow. MQ kept my four year old daughter interested.

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Very cute childrens book. My daughter, 3 years old, loved sitting in my lap to read this book. It is about a little girl who figures out she makes her own happiness. As we finished reading it the first time my daughter immediately asked if we could read it agian. Since it has become her favorite story to read just before nap time.

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What a delightful book! How can one not love Aya (and Papaya)? This simple and adorable book brings an important and profound life-lesson: that there's no need to go looking for happiness everywhere--it is within us.. The book sweetly describes how Aya thinks she has lost her happiness and how she discovers that she hasn't lost it but had it right inside her, all the time. We hold the key to our happiness and this book brings home that point through a child. It also shows how there is magic in routine!

Brilliant book for a child to read over and over--and for adults too!

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Aya and Papya Find Happiness is a darling children's book written and illustrated especially for the pre-reader otherwise known as pre-school aged child. Aya is a young girl who has woken up to discover that she is unhappy and no matter where she looks, she simply can not find where her happiness has gone. After searching high and low, everywhere possible, she discovers that her happiness was inside herself all along. It's a simple story but one with a lesson that is very important to teach young ones: others cannot make or influence your emotions, only you can do that. As adults so often we teach children that other people make them happy or sad or angry or mad, then as adults we have to "unlearn" that behavior. This book helps children learn an important life lesson correctly from the beginning. Yes, of course, there are times when a child will feel sad, depressed, lonely or angry and those are legitimate feelings as well. But sometimes, kids are grumpy and books like Aya and Papaya helps them learn to self-comfort, a good tool for life.

In addition to teachable moments, I also look for good illustrations in children's books. There is no point in writing a book for kids if you are not going to illustrate it properly. I recently purchased a book that had amazing line drawings but every picture was in stark black and white. For the ages for which it was intended, that was not acceptable. Children need and want colorful, well expressed illustrations and this book is filled with them from beginning to end. As you might have guessed from the title, there is a multi-cultural theme to the book - also a wonderful reason to include it into your children's home library. Glowing stars all around for this beautifully told, wonderfully illustrated book.

Thank you to #Netgalley and @Matadorbooks for my copy of #AyaandPapayaFindHappiness on sale now at Amazon.

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*I received a copy of this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Cute illustrations with a cohesive story and a good message for kids. Recommended!

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This is a really sweet little story about a your girl called Aya and her doll Papaya. Aya wakes up one morning and is feeling different and she doesn't know why. The story in the book is her finding her happiness again. The story is lovely and it is an easy read with some lovely images.

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Aya and Papaya Find Happiness. ©2019 by MQ Media Holdings Limited. Created by MQ. Written and produced by Andy Abby, Anne Bleeker and the Qs. Illustrated by Leo Antolini.

Cute children’s picture book with a great message and wonderful illustrations. Enjoy this great book about the good-natured girl, Aya, with her doll Papaya, as she discovers where happiness really comes from. Highly recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley for providing this ebook for review.

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Aya has lost her happiness and does her best to find it back. This book is perfect for kids learning about feelings. My own kids are 5 and 8 and this book led to more discussions about how to gauge your own feelings. In my work I work with students in need of support in their social skills. I read this to them as well. Our discussion centered around what to do if you lose your happiness--who to talk to, steps to take, etc. The illustrations are beautiful and engaging for lower elementary.

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Super cute book! My daughters loved it. The art is great and the writing style flows and it is very easy to read and discuss with young children.

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This is such a wonderful story for children but it could serve as a reminder for many adults. I hope that all of you will pick this little gem up for all the little ones you have in your life.

It is a great reminder that we find happiness within ourselves and we need to remember to find it every day.

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