Where is Happiness?

A Little Bear Uncovers a Big Surprise!

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Pub Date 6 Oct 2021 | Archive Date 29 Nov 2021

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Description

Perfect for a bedtime story! A little bear named Ananda will take your child on a journey filled with beautiful nature illustrations and new animal friends as she explores all the places where happiness might be!

Have you ever wanted to find something very important?

Well, guess what? I'm on a journey—determined to find what I'm looking for. I'm going to find happiness. Happiness is the greatest thing anyone can find. Even as a tiny bear cub, I'll search the entire forest until I have happiness. It might be in a tree or in a new friend. It may even be all the way at the top of the highest waterfall. But you can bet on me, I'm going to find it. And when I do, can I share it with you?

Perfect for a bedtime story! A little bear named Ananda will take your child on a journey filled with beautiful nature illustrations and new animal friends as she explores all the places where...


Available Editions

ISBN 9781647044138
PRICE US$9.99 (USD)

Available on NetGalley

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Average rating from 34 members


Featured Reviews

Where is Happiness? is a sweet story to remind children that happiness isn't something outside of us that we have to constantly chase, but happiness is something that we can find inside our own hearts. I think this is an important lesson in contentment. The illustrations are adorable and I can't wait to share this with my students! My only quibble with the book is that I wish it used the word joy to translate "Ananda" instead of happiness because what most people think of as happiness is fleeting, but joy (in class I call it "a special kind of happiness called joy") is always with us.

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This is a lovely little book. A short, meaningful story, coupled with beautiful illustrations. A modern fable encouraging children to find happiness inside themselves, and also the notice happiness as it occurs in life, often without having to look for it. Relying on external things for happiness can lead to an endless and futile search. Observing life as it is and finding comfort within ourselves is likely to yield much more happiness in the long run. I love how the author has made this message accessible to younger readers. Children's' mental health is so important and it is books like this that can help children to better understand their emotions and develop healthy coping skills.

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Where is Happiness? is such a beautifully written and illustrated book explaining to children that happiness does not have to come from an outside source and that it can come from inside our own hearts if we just let it.
I absolutely loved this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for my ARC.

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So very lovely. My son and I read this book before bed and it was just wonderful. The illustrations are beautiful and the meaning is just so sweet.

This book is the perfect gift for little ones.

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This children's book was so sweet! I love the illustrations so much and the meaning behind the name of Ananda. I wish that the author had developed a bit more her influences from the Indian traditions, to make children discover more of this side of the world and not being focused on an animal that has been recognised as mostly Western. But it is just a small detail, which doesn't stop readers from appreciating this super cute tale. It will be perfect as a bedtime story: not too short, yet also not too long. Thank you Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for this eARC of 'Where is Happiness?'

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Very charming and uncynical look at how a young, bright blue bear goes off on an adventure to find where happiness comes from. The ending may seem fairly obvious from the get-go, but the whole thing is visually appealing and really quite enjoyable.

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Thank you to Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for the chance to read this arc in exchange for my honest thoughts and opinions.

This simple and sweet story packed a lot of punch for its length. I loved the art style of the illustrations and the simplicity of the story's concept. It is such a beautiful way to show children and young ones that although happiness may be fleeting, it can be found in many things around us and this emotion can be shared with others for better appreciation of the world. Happiness does not need to be permanent to be appreciated, nor does it need to be external or concrete to be found. It can be found in the most unexpected of places, including within ourselves. I can see this as a perfect bedtime story for children of many ages.

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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic copy to read and review.

This is a lovely story of a bear called Ananda (which means 'happiness'), who goes looking for where happiness comes from. She looks for her favourite food, friends, places. The illustrations are so cute, too. This will be a great book to help children realize that happiness may not come from what you expect.

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An enjoyable children's book about a cub who is looking for happiness, or more precisely the source of her happiness. A simple story perfect for small kids, with lovely traditional illustration.

Many thanks for NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for this ARC.

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This story was an absolute delight to read from the first page to the last. Murphy has crafted an exquisite tale about love and happiness that children and adults will adore from the moment they open the cover.

Little bear, Ananda, whose name means happiness, goes on a quest one autumn morning to discover where happiness comes from. She starts her search by exploring things that make her happy. First on her list, honey. After an encounter with the honeybees, Ananda realizes that happiness may not come from things. She spends time playing with her friend Willie the Goose, and decides that happiness comes from being with friends. After hibernating through winter, she wakes to a beautiful spring and a rainbow in the sky. Ananda knows that happiness comes from within, but also the whole world around her. She is Ananda and she IS happiness.

This story was so touching and I will be suggesting it to teachers whenever possible. Mental health is such a critical part of childhood that often gets overlooked. Children grow up in a society where happiness is linked to having things, having money or being successful. This book shares the valuable lesson that happiness is something inside of us, a state of being, rather than a feeling we get from tangible things. Murphy shares the wisdom of finding happiness in all of the things in the world around us every day.

This story was illustrated by Egyptian artist Raina Tulba. The watercolor-esque style pictures were whimsical and vibrant. Murphy's prose was simple, making it an easy read for a growing young reader but the simplicity of the words did not undermine or detract from the power and importance of the message behind them.

A must read.

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This book was beautifully done. I think it is very important to teach children how to identify happiness and understand where it comes from, and that even if there is a snowy day or a friend leaves, you can still enjoy the happiness.

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This is a sweet little story, with beautiful illustrations about a bear cub searching for the source of happiness. They travel through the woods, trying to find all the things they know will make them happy. Honey, being with friends, a rainbow. And eventually they realize that happiness comes from within. It’s such a simple and lovey way to explore the idea of happiness and emotions with children.

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A delightful story about a bear whose name means ‘happiness’. The bear goes off in search of happiness and the reader learns it’s all around us. The illustrations are just gorgeous! It was nice to ‘met’ the author and illustrator at the end of the book.

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This delightful book, featuring the adorable cub Ananda, is heartwarming indeed. It is a perfect bedtime story to share wrapped up in cuddles. Ananda's name means happiness or bliss and she invites the reader to go on a journey to find all the things that make her so.

The little cub asks herself the question: "Where does happiness come from? " and then she is determined to go out and find it.

She heads for a nearby hive where bees are busy producing honey because honey is one source of her happiness. Ouch! her nose gets multiple stings from the bees and Ananda quickly realizes that honey does NOT make her happy. She then decides that a friend would be just the thing to bring her happiness. She encounters a goose named Willie and they play until their bellies rumble. Unfortunately Willie must take flight with his flock and he flies off to migrate to a far away destination. Ananda then heads to the top of a waterfalls but alas snow starts falling and she instinctively heads home to her cave because winter is closing in throughout the forest.

Will the sweet little bear finally have peace within herself and thus find happiness? Let me share that she does and you will be surprised at its source.

The soft illustrations are extremely well done depicting lots of emotion and autumn detail. I like the love that flows amongst the family members, especially from mom, who is there for her daughter and understands exactly what brings happiness.

After hibernating with her family all through the winter season and awakening to a beautiful Spring day with a lovely rainbow arched in the sky Ananda comes to the realization that happiness comes from within her... yes... Ananda IS happiness personified! I love the book and highly recommend it.

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This was a nice bed time story; I found it quite enjoyable and I think it might be adorable for young children but as an adult even if it was good, was obviously not for me. It didn't leave something on me, it wasn't memorable. Anyway, I feel to recommend it to parents and their children

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A sweet and heartwarming story about finding happiness in yourself and right where you are. It would tell young kids that they can find happiness elsewhere, sure, like in your friends or family or a rainbow, but true happiness comes from inside you.

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I loved this book so much! It's so cute and it's perfect for kids but also for everyone who likes reading cute stuff. It's easy to read and non-english speakers could read this easily. The illustration is amazing and the message though the book is so clear, happiness is not about money or material things, happiness is where your family and beloved ones are.

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A heart-warming tale for children to teach them about what happiness is and where it can be found. Full of lovely characters the little bear goes on a journey to find happiness. A delightful book to teach children that happiness is found within. The book was illustrated beautifully and with great detail. Thank you NetGalley and The Happy Page for an advance copy of this book.

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This is a very sweet, fairly simple story that's perfect for kids of all ages. I particularly appreciated the very cute artwork and the expressive faces on the bears. It's got quite a sweet message about family, too.

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"Where is Happiness?" is a beautiful, simple children's book about a young bear cub who is in search of happiness. Very cute and lovely illustrations. I would have loved to see a message about how it's okay to not be happy or to not find happiness right away, but overall this had cute themes and a nice message.

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She's a little bear whose name means happiness. She decides to go find happiness. The first thing she does is find honey. That makes her tummy happy until the bees show up and sting her nose...
BooksGoSocial and Net Galley let me read this boook for review (thank you). It has been published and you can get a copy now.

Next she finds a duck who becomes her friend. They have a good time playing until the duck has to join his family and go south for the winter. He says he'll see her next spring.

Will she ever find happiness?

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I really enjoyed this story, which I read with my daughter. She loved it too. The story is about a little bear cub who keeps searching for the source of happiness. She goes out on an exploration hunt to try and find happiness out in nature. Eventually, she goes back home to her parents, and she realises that happiness comes from within, and that it is not something that you can find outside of yourself. This is a lovely theme, which made me feel happy. My daughter loved the ending and the illustrations in the book.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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