The Happiness of a Dog with a Ball in Its Mouth

A New York Times Best Children's Book of 2021 A Publishers Weekly High-Concept Picture Book for Children A CCBC (Cooperative Children's Book Center) Choices Best Children's Book, 2022 Is there any creature in the world happier than a dog with a ball in its mouth? Maybe a cat in the sun? Or a kid eating ice cream? This gentle book, with its soft and evocative colored pencil illustrations, is philosophical in its approach to the millions of forms that happiness can take, as well as the contrasting disappointments and sorrows that we encounter as we navigate our lives. Starting from the happiness of waking up into a brand-new day, the book goes on to explore the kinds of relationships and contrasts that play out between our feelings and experiences. These contrasts play out beautifully across the page from left to right, and across a couple of long gatefold pages.