The absolute perfect book for when your child (or yourself) is just feeling down and negative. The language and story line was simple and straightforward enough for children of many ages, even my three year old enjoyed it despite being younger than the intended audience. The illustrations were wonderful and inspiring.

If you don't look for joy in your day, you will miss it.

Sometimes you come across a children's book that pertain to adults too. We all can learn this lesson and we encouragement to apply this lesson. Holly was having a bad day at school and her wise mother was sharing a lesson about finding what you look for. So another words, if all you see is bad, you never see any good. Seeing good changes everything.

Our children need to practice (along with the parents) the joy of finding joy in all things. After reading this with your children, you will be on your way in doing just that.

A special thank you to Boys Town Press Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

Holly was having a really bad day. She told Mom all about it when she picked Holly up from school. Mom knew Holly needed a way to turn this day around. Mom told her to look for red cars. When they got home Mom asked how many yellow cars did she see. Holly told her you told me to count red ones there weren't any yellow ones. Yes they were. Mom then explains some times we focus so much on one thing, like negative things that happen, that we don't see the other things, good things that happen. She then asked Holly to tell her some good things that happened that day. She was able to tell her several things. Every time Holly tried to have a negative reaction to something she told her she was counting red cars again. This is a very good lesson for everyone to learn. Look for those yellow cars instead of the red. Doesn't make the red cars not happen just we don't dwell on them.

What beautiful illustrations! They were unique and absolutely stunning.

It was clear that this book was made for older kids (maybe towards the 4-7 range?) because the text is a little bit longer without being too long and the illustrations are not as 'busy' as a book for younger kids.

Very cute and has a lovely message!

Super cute illustrations and a great message. I could definitely see myself enjoying this book with my young kids. There is also a Tips for Parents and Educators page in the back. Note that this book has the word "stupid" in it once, which parents may not find suitable for younger children.

This is an amazing picture book that is not only for children. I'm gifting this one to a couple of friends who are adults and another who just left college and will start their lives (to leave anxiety aside). The book is well done and has tips at the end, that everyone can follow daily. Finding joy each day is not easy and the bad things that happen tend to overwhelm us, the way this mother teaches her daughter to notice her mistake is very clever. She asks her to spot red cars, but then asks her if she saw any yellow, this turns into a great lesson in rethinking in what we choose to focus on.
Very simple but with a powerful message.

This book was so cute. As a therapist, I really loved the message. The illustrations were beautiful as well.

This title was adorable. I loved the message in looking for joy even when it might be difficult to see.

The illustration of this book was beautiful.

This was very cute and a good way to teach about looking past the bad and into the good even when you might not see it at first. The pictures were uniquely illustrated and they were fun.

This story is beautifully illustrated with a wonderful lesson. The illustrations are brightly colored and engaging. Joy! is told from the perspective of Holly, who has had a bad, bad day. Her mother reminds her to look for joy even on the bad days and shows her how to change her perspective.
While this book is a great story for any child, as an RBT, I believe this story could easily be incorporated into ABA sessions with neurodivergent children who are dealing with negative thoughts about themselves and their environment.
Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for this honest review.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

my daughter loved the pictures in this book! the little girl was very relatable as a child stuck in her own mind. the messaging was great and we were able to end our day with telling each other about all the good things that happened throughout the day

I had a great time reading this book with my little ones and talking about the things that make us happy. This was a lovely little story with beautiful illustrations.

This illustrated book is great to teach children to look for the proverbial silver lining. Going from a negative perspective to a more positive outlook on any situation takes a little training, and this book offers helpful tricks to do just that. A useful guide to learn how to look for the bright side despite adversity.

This was a very positive book that I would recommend to parent for their children and to teachers for their classrooms. It contains an outlook that could benefit children as well as adults.

Joy! You Find What You Look For is a sweet important book. I was having the worst afternoon and this book reminded me to look for joy too. I liked that there are downloadable workbook pages referenced at the beginning of the book. I also liked the steps included at the end of the book, to find ways to look for joy.
The artwork was so pleasant too!

“If you don’t look for joy in your day, you will miss it.” “Joy can be found anywhere…. if you simply look for it.”

Some great advice for kids of all ages in this lovely little picture book- and the artwork is well done too.