It’s blog tour time! Today I’m hosting a delightful new picture book, Happy Sad by Pippa Goodhart and Augusta Kirkwood, published by Little Door Books.

When Toby finds a sad mermaid in a rock pool he takes her home to make her happy. But, away from her sea home and family, the mermaid is ‘Happy Sad’. What should Toby do?

A sweet tale of mixed emotions, as a young boy plays by the sea and finds more than just shells on the beach! Beautifully captured with softly-toned illustrations full of depth, Happy Sad portrays the exact feeling when you’re caught between being happy and sad.

As Toby tries to make the mermaid happy, although he succeeds in some ways, she still misses her true home. Even though they become friends, he starts to appreciate the only way to make her truly happy is to take her home – but this makes Toby ‘happy sad’ too! Happy to see the mermaid happy in her real home; sad because he can’t go with her.

A great picture book to instill empathy and reassure young readers that it’s ok to have mixed emotions, Happy Sad is a lovely story and will brighten up your picture book shelf!

With thanks to Little Door Books for inviting me to be part of this blog tour. Follow the rest of the tour here: