Such a sweet book. The simplest formula for happiness, written to be easy for children to grasp. But I think most adults could benefit from this book too.

I admire the intent and message behind this, but I just don't think the idea is well executed. It tries to show that sharing and being helpful can help you be happy, but there's suck a lack of subtlety with the incredibly repetitive statements about whether people are happy or not that it comes across as completely forced (on one page, happy or happiness is mentioned in four short sentences running). The writing doesn't really feel like it's got a natural flow to it, so it's not really very fun to read.

There's inconsistencies too that are ignored to try and hammer the point home - at one point (and I'm avoiding spoilers as best I can here) it's claimed that someone can't remember if they've ever felt a certain way before, despite it mentioning that she totally did a couple of sentences previously on the same page, AND the page before, AND a couple of pages later that she does when she dances which has clearly been a long-term hobby of hers.

The illustrations are fine but that's it, and they're just there for decoration rather than enhancing the text in any way.

It all feels like an idea that had a story forced around it, without really caring how the story is built up so long as the clear message that sharing and caring is good is hammered home, which would be fine if the message wasn't being told by, indeed, a story. I hate being so overtly negative, but I just wouldn't want to use this either with my own children or at any story time session.

The writing on this one was a little choppy or awkward. Maybe too obvious or too silly? However, the message was really sweet and the art was cute. i will definitely be reading this to my daughter again.

'Rebecca Finds Happiness' is about a little girl who wants to be happy, but quickly finds that material things are not making her happy. The discovery of happiness comes in the form of meeting a new school-friend, Tara. Rebecca observes Tara's behaviour and notices that Tara's happiness comes from helping others, and this in turn makes Tara and those around her happy. Rebecca tries this out herself, and she becomes much happier on the whole. This is a really heart-warming story that teaches young people that kindness and generosity are very important, and the message has been delivered very well.

Unfortunately the illustrations left a lot to be desired, and the ending was abrupt and a little too 'once upon a time' fairy story, but other than that this was a great book.

The art is nothing special (and actually looks a lot like something I drew in middle school for a Gifted & Talented program where you wrote, illustrated, and bound your own book...) and the story was flat. Spoiled unhappy blonde girl meets self-effacing black girl who is always happy because she's so kind and good. Unhappy blonde girl decides to start being less spoiled and more nice to people and then finds out that makes her happy. Trite and not compellingly written. Even my 3 year old wasn't interested in this story.

I was particularly interested in this title when I saw the illustrator has aspirations for art therapy, and found myself intrigued by the uses of color throughout the story. Rebecca looks for happiness through the typical methods we are enculturated to try: consumerism, hedonism, and success. However, she eventually discovers that rooting her identity in her work will not lead to happiness, but that selflessness might be the key. The ending felt a bit abrupt; I found myself wanting an illustration of the girls as adults.

This book is a cute and meaningful story with simple but beautiful illustrations. The lesson is one that is important for all children to hear. The knowledge that each of us is empowered to find our own happiness through service to and love of others is a great thing for all ages to take from this book.

This is an important little children’s book about finding happiness. Rebecca could not find happiness in anything she tried until she met Tara and observed how happy she was. Rebecca then thought about why Tara was happy, and even asked Tara about it. Rebecca tried a few of those things and noticed how making others happier by sharing and helping out would also make her happier. I think children and parents will benefit from reading this book and discussing it. Beautiful illustrations, too!

"Rebecca Finds Happiness" has a positive message to deliver but the delivery falls a bit short.

Rebecca is a very unhappy little girl. She tries to find happiness by asking for lots of new toys from her parents. She gets bored of them pretty quickly and discovers that toys do not equal happiness. She then thinks that if she does whatever she wants that will be the key to her happiness. She stays up all night eating mountains of candy. Yes, that should make her happy right? Alas, that too fails. All that does is make her feel sick and have a tummy ache the next morning. She is a pretty good dancer and decides to be the best in her ballet class. That too falls flat as sometimes the other ballerinas would dance much better. This makes Rebecca jealous and mad. Oh dear how can she attain happiness in her life? Will she ever be happy?

She meets a new girl at her school named Tara who seems to be the epitome of happiness. Rebecca, through interacting and observing how Tara acquires her happiness, finally discovers the magical, real secret. She learns from Tara that giving is much better than receiving and that acts of kindness and generosity are powerful tools to obtain long lasting happiness in your life. Happiness comes from within not from without.

I must admit that this book has so much potential but the characters are not developed strongly enough and the illustrations do little to drive and boost the storyline. The colour pallet is lovely but the size and expressiveness of the pictures lacks the punch to keep kids engaged, especially if you are sharing the book in a group situation. This book is like a kernel of corn.... the kernel is there but it didn't pop and it could have for sure.

This is from an advance review copy for which I thank the publisher.

This was a short, sweet tale which I thoroughly enjoyed. It's about a young girl who can't seem to be happy no matter what. She has toys and candy, but nothing she tries, not even dancing seems to make her happy except for the very short term; then she meets and befriends Tara who seems to be happy no matter what. In emulating Tara, Rebecca finds a way to be happy herself.

I liked the story and the positive and useful message from Gina Harris. I liked the easy style of the colorful illustrations by Hayley Anderson. I felt this could have stood to have been longer, but it's fine as it is and sends a good message. The illustrations were rather small, even when viewed on an iPad in Bluefire Reader. I could enlarge them by spreading a thumb and forefinger over each image, but it felt like they ought to be maximized to begin with when viewed in large format. it was the same in Adobe Digital Editions, and on my phone it was so small it made reading rally hard. Just FYI!

Those quibbles aside, I liked this story and I recommend it.

It is a nice, gentle story. I liked how the main character tried different ways to make herself happy. It reminds me of the book “Have You Filled a Bucket Today?”, taking the positive moral and writing a story to go along with it. The format of the pages seem like the papers given to young children at school where they have to write a few sentences of a story and draw a picture at the top. The pictures also seemed like they were done by a student. If the pictures were done by a student, I am impressed. I have read some published works that were written and compiled by older elementary or junior high students that have the same feel and style to them. The colors and shading are pretty. Some information about the author and illustrator at the end of the book would have been helpful to write this review.