Mr. Happy & Miss Grimm

Reviewed by: Jill O'Connor - North Yarmouth Academy, Yarmouth, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: July 7, 2015

Review

First published in Germany in 2013 as Herr Gluck & Frau Ungluck, this book was translated into English and published in America in 2015. Mr. Happy moves next door to Miss Grimm and begins planting gardens. His cheerful nature and even cheerier plants begin taking over Miss Grimm's life. She is not happy at first, but then all of the beauty creeps into her life, her attitude changes into one of Bliss. It's a bit flimsy that she would change so much just because some plants grew in her yard, and she isn't really given the choice to live with Mr. Happy (his sunflowers grow so big that they push the two houses together), but children accept that such things can happen, and the ending is satisfyingly happy. A book like this does better with a little guidance from an adult. Beauty and nature can make people happy and sharing your world with someone is usually better than going it alone. The illustrations are the most delightful part of this book; the collages bring Mr. Happy's garden to life with their colorful layers. And the ladybug motif is well utilized as it spreads throughout the book. This book could be used with pre-K and kindergarteners to talk about friendship and what makes people happy, but it is not an essential purchase.

Overall Book Score: good