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Pass it On by Sophy Henn (@sophyhenn) will bring a brilliant burst of happiness to your bookshelves. A simple set of friendly reminders about how easy it is and how wonderful it feels to ‘pay it forward’ when something nice happens to you, Henn’s latest offering is pure unadulterated joy disguised as a stunning picture book.

The book’s enthusiasm and generosity of spirit are infectious. Its rainbow palette puts a spring in your step and a smile on your face. Yes, if you’re in need of a mood boost, share this book!

Some will enjoy this book simply as an upbeat encouragement and reminder that happiness needn’t be complicated. But this book also offers opportunities for talking about behaviour, kindness and unselfishness and its figurative language , expressing happiness in so many different ways, makes it a picture book you could delight in using with slightly older children to look at synonyms and creative writing.

Delightfully upbeat, this book makes the world a better place, spreading warmth and optimism all around. Buy two copies – one for yourself, and the second one? Pass it on!

Inspired by Sophy Henn’s vibrant illustrations of balloons we decided to try a new (to us) painting technique to explore how to achieve an appearance of “transparency”.

First the kids used a cardboard tube to trace overlapping circles onto a piece of watercolour paper.

Then they painted in a selection of non-overlapping circles before – and this is the crucial bit – stopping painting and going next door to play with a load of balloons.

Once the first circles were completely dry, the kids painted their next selection of circles in different colours. Again we stopped for balloon play, to give the paint time to dry before filling in the final rounds of colour.

Leaving the paint to dry is essential in order to create crisp lines and a new shade of paint when the overlapping areas are painted, so make sure you have a second activity set up to keep people happy whilst the paint dries (this only takes 10 or 15 minutes each time, but if you don’t leave it, the paint mixes, runs and doesn’t give the ‘transparent’ look we were after).

Once all the circles were dry the kids drew balloon strings on in pencil, to present a bunch in bouquet style as a gift to friends. These balloon bunches would make gorgeous illustrations on home made thank-you cards, don’t you think?

Adding in the magic ingredient of “time” to our painting experience made all the difference, and one we hadn’t previously considered. Now I’m thinking how else we can play with paint and time to create different effects… If you’ve any suggestions, do let us know!

Whilst making creating our balloon art we listened to these happy songs:

Other activities which might work well alongside reading Pass it On include:

Choosing your favourite ideas from these two great books, both by Bernadette Russell, packed with ideas for bringing smiles to the faces around you:

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Disclosure: I was sent a free review copy of this book by the publisher.

Where Bear?

By Sophy Henn

I’m staring out of the window at yet ANOTHER snow storm, and I’m wondering, probably like a ton of east coast people right about now, “Where Liz?”. Where does one go when you’re not content to be where you are? Where do you go?

Winter is long and harsh this year, but there are a slew of picture books out there that can make the down time fun and productive. And these wonderful books can certainly take you on a journey to places you’re never been, with people you’ve never met.

Former president Harry Truman used to call his places, the “foxholes of the mind.”- places to visit in memory that are comfy and familiar. And in this picture book, it’s someplace new and exciting!

All that’s needed is a little planning – just like boy and bear in “Where Bear?”

Sophy Henn, in her debut picture book, introduces a bear and boy that are fast friends. Then, things change, as that has always been the guaranteed state of the world, right? Things do change. How do you explain THAT to a child or here, a bear, that craves permanence and stability, yet his bearishness and bigness needs a big place to do both. Answer? You find the best possible next step or place to be. And what’s needed here is a bit of research on the part of both boy and bear – together. They search in a variety of settings from jungles to zoos, from circuses to woods and into dark caves. No fit is found….until they share a cold, blue ICE pop. Ah, now you’re onto something. Colder climes are just the ticket for this polar bear.

Remember Elsa, the lion cub, in the movie, “Born Free?”It was made from the book by Joy Adamson of she and her husband George’s experiences with the rescued and domesticated lion cub, Elsa that had to be retrained to live again in the wild. It was translated successfully into a movie version. I saw it again the other night.

This picture book, “Where Bear?”reminded me of that scenario in a much simpler set of settings. But the themes are the same; helping the one we have been close to, and no longer can be, through the transition phase to a newer and better life.

Things do keep changing; it’s a life lesson for kids – and adults. Cubs turn into big white polar bears and boys grow up as well. But as much as things change, some things are forever if we make the effort – and that is key. Things like friendship can last through all sort of life changes, if we make the effort to stay in touch. Even though we are no longer living physically close to that bear or person we know and love, if we have shared something of ourselves with them, they remain a part of who we are and will be.

And what about shared vacations together? But, where to go? I’m sure they’ll figure it out. Where, Bear? How about someplace warm and sunny?

Matt Monro – Born Free – YouTube

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISWOrI0WaLs