I was first drawn in by the stunning cover of this book and then fell in love with the whole book. Kuljinder Kaur Brar’s Mandeep’s Cloudy Days is a tender and heartwarming story that beautifully captures the struggles and triumphs of a young girl learning to navigate life’s emotional ups and downs. The story explores themes of identity, mental health, and resilience in a sensitive and empowering way. Brar addresses Mandeep’s emotional struggles with nuance and compassion, allowing readers to understand the complexities of her thoughts and feelings as she tries to find her place in the world. It is a celebration of the power of resilience and the importance of understanding one’s emotions, making it an important read for young readers and adults alike.

Mandeep and her father love spending time together. But then he gets a job where he has to be away for days at a time. Mandeep becomes depressed, but she's at a loss to explain her feelings to her parents and teachers.

There's really something to this book. But I'm not sure it had enough space for everything it was trying to say. This left me feeling a bit unsatisfied. I like that this book always treats Mandeep with respect and understanding. The artwork is charming. The acknowledgement of mental illness is enlightening. This book needs a bit more discussion to really make sense, but it's a good discussion starter.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

I thought that the story was really cute and short. The illustrations were great and the message from the book was good. I just wish it was a little longer exploring how you can get out of a dark place. I couldn't find out the why behind this book because it didn't really give readers anything new.

This is such a beautiful book. Emotions are sometimes hard to navigate, especially for little ones, and this story is a perfect reminder that expression (journalling, talking, etc.) can be so helpful in getting everything out and feeling a little less blue. The illustrations are also extremely captivating and rich. I loved every single page! A stunning piece of work overall.

Thank you to NetGalley and Annick Press for an advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions are, as always, my very own.

This picture book was everything I wanted it to be and more. It discusses emotions and how to handle them in a way that makes it easily geared towards children ages 6+. The art is also very beautiful and brings the diverse characters to life. Being able to talk about strong emotions and the different ways that they are portrayed in this book is fantastic. The book will give hope to young readers that are experiencing separation from a parent. It highlights that even though there's less time together, the quality of that time is just as great, if not better.

The cover illustration truly captivated me, and the artwork throughout the book is even more stunning. The story beautifully conveys a message about coping with the distance from loved ones, and I believe it resonates with readers of all ages. We all experience times when we're far from those we care about and could use a gentle reminder of how to manage those feelings. Mandeep’s resilience in facing the challenges in the story is inspiring, and the diverse characters add richness to the narrative. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the meaningful message woven throughout the book.

Mandeep loves spending time with her dad. When he starts a new job that keeps him busy Mandeep is very sad. She no longer had someone to drink tea with, someone to tell her silly jokes, or a dance partner. Her days go from gray to stormy without the sunshine of her Dad in her life.

This book is a beautiful representation of a strong father daughter bond. Mandeep’s Cloudy Day can help children verbalize the way they are feeling and come up with some coping strategies. I love the contrast in colors between the sunny and gray days. I have felt those feelings and felt the art work represented them perfectly.

Mandeep's father is a big part of her life, but when he gets a job as a long-distance driver only home on weekends, she becomes so sad missing him. The sadness is as thunderclouds and storms even though he sends postcards to her every day. Then she begins to write in a journal as if she was sending postcards to her dad and learns how to face these sad feelings.
The illustrations by Samrath Kaur are brilliantly colored, expressive, and FUN.
Well suited for reading WITH someone of any age including ESL, and great for gifting to EVERYONE, but especially to a school, hospital, or your local public library!
I requested and received a free temporary EARC on Adobe Digital Editions from Annick Press via NetGalley. Thank you!

Mandeep gos through many emotions in this book which are beautifully illustrated. It is vital to have literature that depicts emotions of all kinds so that kids know they are not alone. It also helps to foster conversations about healthy ways to cope with emotions too.

Mandeep and her dad have a special connection. They spend time together doing chores and entertaining the family. But when Dad gets a new job, he’s not around as much. Mandeep struggles with this shift and has to figure out how to deal with her emotions. The pictures on each page help tell a familiar story to which kids will relate. Emotions are hard for kids to share and this book gives a great look into how kids deal with things kids struggle with. My only complaint is I would have loved a pronunciation key for some of the cultural words and perhaps a few context clues to define some of the activities the characters do together. Overall, it's a beautiful book to add to your library.

A very sweet book about a child who is dealing with emotions from her dad getting a new job that causes him to travel frequently. This book uses great phrasing in speaking about emotion and how she struggles to express herself. And introduces writing postcards to her dad. This is such a positive intro to how writing/journaling can help us process and think clearer. I would highly recommend this for every child’s home library.

Mandeep has a close relationship with her dad. They do all kinds of special things together!

One day he has a new job and must travel often. Mandeep navigates the changes with stormy weather emotions. She’s having a really hard time and no one understands.

She has a purple journal where she usually writes joke but she starts writing postcards to her dad so he won’t miss anything while he’s away. Once she starts writing she can think more clearly and can express herself better!

I received an advance copy from NetGalley. This is a beautifully illustrated picture book. I appreciated a story of a Punjabi family written in the point of view of a young girl. Readers will relate to having a parent that works long hours or is gone for days and not being able to navigate those emotions. The story lends to discussion points on how to deal with feelings and keeping a journal. The father has a positive parenting role and Mandeep learns to navigate her emotions. Story does end abruptly. Highly recommended to add to your school library.

This was a lovely book about a father and daughter, and their relationship. I really love when children's books touch on the subject of emotions, especially sadness, since it is such a complex emotion. It also touches on the subject of missing someone and how to cope with it, which I really appreciate.
Loved the illustration style and all the colors, it all worked so well with this story!
Overall, a really heartwarming book that I think every child should read one day.

Mandeep’s Cloudy Days is a book about a little girl and her big feelings after her day gets a job working away from home most of the week.

I absolutely loved the art in this book. It was so beautiful, rich, and detailed. The colour choices were amazing and really helped you feel the shift in emotions just by the colour palette used. I especially loved the page of Mandeep cleaning her room. I honestly loved it so much that I would likely read any book they illustrated!

It wasn’t just the beautiful illustrations I loved though, the whole book was amazing. It was such a great book about emotions for children. I read a lot of children’s books, but this is one of my new favourites!

A sweet story about a father and daughter's strong relationship. Although her mother means well, it is her father that understands her and encourages her to be herself. The illustrations are very sweet and portrays the scenes well!

Aw, a really sweet story of how to cope with difficult feelings when a child is dealing with changes at home. I loved the art style of this children's book, absolutely vibrant and gorgeously done. It does feel like it ends a bit abruptly though.

I love this! It teaches kiddos how to understand the sadness they are feeling, and how to channel those feelings into something productive or distracting to help their days get brighter. Perfect for parents who either have busy jobs or go away for a while.

This hit my heart so hard, and the art and colors are absolutely perfect for telling Mandeep’s story. When her dad is home, her world is full of light and fun and good times, but when he gets a new job driving a truck that has him traveling during the week, her world becomes dark and cloudy and stormy. I love the way her missing her father was shown, and also her finding a way to bring light back into her days, even as she still misses her dad. I also loved the ending when dad comes home and she’s able to share her week and they’re once again able to share the activities they always do together.

Pjs, cuddling, and story-time before bed is a favorite at our house! The last couple weeks the kids had so much fun reading some new material I was given advanced copies of. It’s cute how now they ask what new books I have to read. As soon as I’m finished they will tell me what they loved about the book. My great little reviewers! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️📚📖 @netgalley #netgalley

Mandela Cloudy Days by Kuljinder Kaur Brar ( comes out Oct 21)
Her dad is a truck driver and she has to learn how handle her “stormy cloud emotion” days. A great book about emotions.

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