When You Are Happy by Eileen Spinelli, Geraldo Valerio (Illustrator), Geraldo Valério (Illustrator)

From the Publisher

When you are afraid

I will take your hand

and not let go—

In this delightful and lyrical text by renowned children's author Eileen Spinelli, a young girl finds reassurance from all of her family members and learns that love complements every mood. Coupled with dazzling art by illustrator Geraldo Valério, her words become a beautiful reminder of the care and comforts of unconditional love.

Children's Literature

Eileen Spinelli lets out all the stops in this no-holds-barred paean to family love. Her tiny poem-meditations catch a little one's tears "in a blue cup/and water the yellow flowers/and they will grow/more beautiful." Blankets are woven "from leftover sun." Stars are borrowed and belly buttons exposed as parents, grandparents, and siblings rally round a delicate child. The end result could be either unadulterated joy—or suffocation. The Brazilian/Canadian illustrator Geraldo Valerio works with acrylics, and his figures swirl Chagall-like—with that touch of magic realism that is considered Latin American, but perhaps was birthed in the shtetls—through bright, bold spaces. His work is a good match for Spinelli's verse. The book is definitely eye-catching, from the prefatory visual family tree, to anti-grumpy pumpkin fields, to night skies pierced by the spotlights of rescue helicopters and spelled-out star messages. It is certainly a good-choice bedtime story for insecure youngsters.

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2-An enchanting story of familial love. These relatives gather around and take turns comforting, cajoling, and keeping one child happy and out of harm's way. Mom and Dad joyfully wait on her hand and foot when she is sick, sisters and brothers make silly faces to make the grumps go away, and her grandmother knits her a blanket "from leftover sun" should she ever be cold. When she gets lost, her grandfather breaks out an old-fashioned helicopter complete with swarming searchlights held by siblings and the family cat. The lyrical text, in short prose verse, invites loved ones to snuggle down together to share it over and over again, and the springtime repartee, "-I will outleap the frog,/outbuzz the bee,/outwink the firefly," will delight read-aloud groups. Val rio's acrylic childlike illustrations sparkle with so much color, expression, and engaging design that kids will hardly know where to look first. At times the whimsical characters look too similar to tell them apart, but that doesn't diminish the fun or the sentiment that familial love is unconditional. Great for springtime programs or family-tree units.-Wanda Meyers-Hines, Ridgecrest Elementary School, Huntsville, AL Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

A grinning girl with golden hair floats through the night sky on the star-spangled cover of this lyrical look at the power of a supportive family. The front matter includes a family tree that helpfully identifies the girl's parents, siblings and both sets of grandparents. In the first-person narrative, each relative in turn offers some sort of imaginative help to the little girl as she experiences different childhood feelings and fears. The soothing words of each relative address a child's deepest concerns, and "poems piled like pillows," "a blanket from leftover sun." The synergistic efforts of author and illustrator successfully incorporate elements of magical realism: People can fly, the moon can appear as a recurring character and a golden-haired girl can become Red Riding Hood, with the power to tame the wolf. Luminous illustrations in glowing, jeweled tones are filled with flowing lines that establish a dreamy quality, softening the lines between fantasy and reality. (Picture book. 3-6)

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