Happy

Ages 3 to 10, Grades P to 6

Back in print at last! A dazzling new edition of Mies vanHout’s beloved art book of emotional literacy

Mies van Hout's Happy is a tour de force of underwater awesomeness and emotion, showcasing what an artist can do with a few pastels, black paper and something fundamental to express." — New York Times Book ReviewWho could have guessed that dazzlingly colored fish swimming in an ink-black sea would help hundreds of thousands of people around the world learn to recognize and name their emotions? In 2012, Mies van Hout’s Happy swept the scene as both a stunning art piece and a social-emotional learning book like no other. On each of its spreads swims a single fish, each scale and fin suffused with an emotion that the facing page names in similarly expressive letters: curious, shocked, loving, content…Now, in this stunning edition of Happy, van Hout’s luminous fish swim across extra-heavy pages that will endure through countless readings. A gorgeous dust jacket reverses to a playful poster for home, classroom, or office.  Readers of all ages can benefit from expanding their emotional vocabulary. Use Happy during a story time full of energetic face-making, or emote with your whole bodies for a drama exercise. Share it one-on-one to help someone name what they’re feeling, or inspire budding artists to see what they can do with chalk pastels and black paper. Or simply page through the art and lose yourself in Mies van Hout’s ocean of extraordinary fish. Whatever makes you…happy."It's a delightful amuse-bouche of a book, and an aquatic introduction to everyday emotions. Ages 2– up!" — Publishers Weekly ★ Starred Review

About the Author

Mies vanHout is theauthor and illustrator of the picture books Happy, Friends, Surprise, From One to Ten, andThis Is My Daddy, among others, which have been hugely popular in Europeand North America. She studied graphic design at the Arts Academy in Groningen,the Netherlands, and has worked as a freelance illustrator and graphic designersince 1989. Her distinctive paintings are cheerful and bold, and her work hasbeen published in more than twenty countries.Mies vanHout is theauthor and illustrator of the picture books Happy, Friends, Surprise, From One to Ten, andThis Is My Daddy, among others, which have been hugely popular in Europeand North America. She studied graphic design at the Arts Academy in Groningen,the Netherlands, and has worked as a freelance illustrator and graphic designersince 1989. Her distinctive paintings are cheerful and bold, and her work hasbeen published in more than twenty countries.