A free copy of this book was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
My Heart is Laughing is the story of Dani, a little girl whose best friend Ella has recently moved away. Dani really misses Ella and when she starts being picked on by other girls in her class it makes her day go from bad to worse.
There were some parts of this story that were really sweet, like the friendship between Dani and Ella and the moments they share, such as playing in the monkey tree. However, when reading it I felt that a lot of the story's fluency and heart got lost in the translation from the original language. Too many parts of the plot felt very abrupt and switched quickly from one scenario to the next with little fluidity. It's a shame because I feel this would have read as a much more heartfelt story with a different translation.
A sweet story about friendships that doesn't quite translate across the page. 2.5 stars.

Here is an adorable, sweet, and yet also truly meaningful take on what makes friendship work, and how to survive difficult times, friendship-wise. The message here, and the encouragement to stay positive during trying times, is worthy in its own right, but I really won over by the language and the illustrations, both of which are perfectly calculated for a first to third-grade reading level and mind. It has some heft to it--it will have around 120 pages in physical form--but it also builds enough momentum and interest to keep kids coming back, day after day, in order to finish it. I could see this working really well as a read-aloud text in a classroom environment, where there is plenty of time and room to ask the readers questions and prompt them to draw parallels to their own stories.