I really enjoyed the soft and colorful illustrations in Joy even before reading the story, but I loved the story itself just as much. 

Fern's Nanna has been acting tired and less energetic lately -- it seems the joy has gone out of her life. Without getting into all the "adulty" explanations about aging and mental health, we simply watch Fern as she tries to physically capture joy in her determined, child-like way. As the reader likely expects, this doesn't work, so Fern tells her Nanna about her troubles. She learns that she can help bring joy to her Nanna by just being herself.

I loved the sweetness and concern that Fern displays for her Nanna, and that in the end, even though she can't fix all of her Nanna's problems (which aren't explained here), she can still help her to experience some joy in the midst of hardship. A very sweet and encouraging book.

(Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy.)

Scrounged From: NetGalley

Format: Kindle
Author: Corrinne Averiss
Illustrator: Isabelle Follath
Pages: 32
Content Advisory: None

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