Sunny Side Up
by Clare Helen Welsh, illustrated by Ana Sanfelippo
Interest age: 4 to 5
Reading age: 6+
Published by Little Tiger, 2023
About this book
If you put on your sunny-side spectacles - just like the young child in this book - a goodbye can become a hello, the scary times can bring a surprise and a big change can become an exciting new adventure. Sometimes finding the joy in life’s difficult moments is all about how you look at things…
Of course, there’ll also be times when the sunny side just isn’t there, no matter how hard you try to find it. It’s okay to feel sad now and then. The sunny side specs will be there for whenever you feel ready to help you discover more sunny things.
This is a joyful and warm-hearted picture book which takes inspiration from CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) coping skills to explore how children can manage difficult feelings. The minimal and sensitive text comes together beautifully with the innovative holes and flaps that are used to recast the child’s negative experiences into positive ones. The gorgeous, colourful illustrations are full of the subtlety and expression needed for a book about difficult emotions.
At the end of the book, young readers are invited to cast their eyes through the sunny-side specs on the back cover – this is a clever final touch which makes the book’s theme of re-framing thoughts both tangible and fun.
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