Book Review: Joy by Corrinne Averiss and Isabelle Follath

★★★★★

Synopsis: “Fern’s Nanna has not been herself of late. When Mum remarks that all joy seems to have gone out of her life, Fern decides to go on a joy hunt. With her catching-kit at the ready, Fern sets off and finds joy in all sorts of unusual places. But how will she bring it back to Nanna?”

This story is one of the best I’ve read lately in the picture book genre. I’ve noticed a trend where grandparents only feature in picture books to teach children about loss and death, so I was very scared that was the way this story was going to go. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t. Instead, it teaches children about the importance of relationships with grandparents. Moreover, I really liked the fact that Fern was determined to ‘catch’ joy to bring it back to her nanna. That’s the kind of endearing logic only a child would have, and that’s exactly why I love reading picture books. (Side note: Fern is a gorgeous name, and now one of my all-time favourites.)

The illustrations are equally as beautiful as the story. I like the soft ‘look’ of them, and it’s exactly the amount of detail I like. Furthermore, I really enjoy the contrast between the illustrations showing joy and the ones showing sadness. The ones showing sadness are a lot more grey and dark, while the ones depicting joy are very bright. I also was pleasantly surprised that joy is physically depicted in the illustrations, with swirls of bright colours, butterflies, sparkles and leaves – all the things that bring children joy!

Lastly, I thought the added touch of using childhood pictures of Joy’s creators was wonderful, and it made me smile when I noticed it!

If you would like to buy your own copy of Joy, you can do so at Book Depository.*

*Please note that I'm a Book Depository affiliate, so I might make a small profit if you use the link above

I would like to thank Words & Pictures and Quarto Kids for sending me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.