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THE BIG LITTLE BOOK OF HAPPY SADNESS by Colin Thompson Kirkus Star

THE BIG LITTLE BOOK OF HAPPY SADNESS

by Colin Thompson & illustrated by Colin Thompson

Pub Date: Sept. 1st, 2008
ISBN: 978-1-933605-90-6
Publisher: Kane Miller

In this quirky Australian import, young George lives with his grandmother “and an empty place where his mother and father should have been.” Every Friday he visits the animal shelter, and he’s drawn to the dark cage at the end, where animals due for euthanasia are kept. There he finds a scruffy, three-legged dog living out his last day. George’s sensitive grandmother recognizes the desperate needs of boy and dog and helps to adopt the winsome Jeremy. A sudden infusion of color into the previously drab computer-drawn illustrations graphically demonstrates the happiness all three share. George and his grandmother now get to work to create the perfect artificial leg for Jeremy, and with success (a leg with a wheel for park visits) comes bliss. Text, a sentence to a paragraph per spread, is relatively brief, but the combination of facial expressions and interesting perspectives perfectly captures the mood. Some children (and adults!) may find Jeremy’s disability and unhappy future at the animal shelter disturbing, but the splendid conclusion makes this tale a joy. (Picture book. 5-8)