When I am Happiest

June 15, 2015
Forty-six pages into Dani's happy, second-to-last day at school, her teacher takes her out to the hallway, newly informed that "Your father has been run over....He was biking to work." As with the previous two books about Dani, My Happy Life (2013) and My Heart Is Laughing (2014), this book is unerringly honest about the experiences and feelings of both children and adults. However, its shocking, melodramatic plot pushes the envelope. Readers learn that Dani is motherless, but otherwise all is initially light humor, as in classmates' insertion of thumbtacks into the soles of their shoes for tap dancing. Dani is preparing finishing touches on her masterpiece, a book about happiness, when the bad news comes. The emotions that accompany a child in shock are realistic, and Dani's grandparents and her beloved cousin, Sven, play a role in helping her cope. Although tragedies occur daily in real life, it's asking a lot of chapter-book readers to master emotions along with decoding skills by reading such sentences as, "And so it is that Dani, on the second-to-last day of school, goes to the hospital where her father lies sleeping so deeply that he might never wake up again." What is perhaps intended as comic relief feels ghoulish, as in a classmate's note: "I hope your father gets better so you don't have to go to an orphanage!" The black-and-white illustrations are sweetly appealing. More likely to create anxiety than to cultivate empathy or sympathy. (Fiction. 5-7)

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August 1, 2015

Gr 1-3-Young Dani is back in the third installment of the series. As in My Happy Life (2013) and My Heart Is Laughing (2014, both Gecko Pr.), Dani tends to see the good in most situations and is usually happy. Starting on the penultimate day of her first year of school, everything once again looks sunny; she looks forward to wearing a new dress and singing on the last day. However, her resilient personality is put to the test when she learns that her father was hit by a car while riding his bike and he may not wake up. Dani struggles with trying to find the positive when her world is turned upside down. The story lines of the previous two books were built around Dani's mostly jovial relationships with her father and her best friend, Ella, who had moved away. This new volume shifts to heavier subject matter. Now, Dani has to find support from her grandparents and her cousin, Sven, while navigating her uncertain future. One bright spot for the protagonist is the book she is writing about the time she was happiest-if she can find it within her to be happy again, that is. Eriksson's delightful black-and-white drawings help to soften the severity of the subject matter, as their sweetness comes through the characters' expressions. VERDICT Though this title is more serious than the first two installments, those who are fans of Dani will applaud her resiliency and attitude.-Michele Shaw, Quail Run Elementary School, San Ramon, CA

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