A Bottle of Happiness

by Pippa Goodhart, Ehsan Abdollahi (Illustrator)

There was once a big mountain with two villages on either side. The people on one side were rich and worked only to get richer. The people on the other side of the mountain were poor but had a wealth of stories and laughter. One day, a poor young boy decides to seek a new story and this leads him to the rich people’s marketplace. He would love one of the ripe pieces of fruit, but what can a poor boy trade? Find out if it is possible to bottle and share happiness in this timeless fable, exquisitely illustrated in an eye-opening and unusual style.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Travel, Fiction, Friendship

28 pages, Hardcover

Published September 10, 2019

About the author

Pippa Goodhart is the author of over a hundred children’s books, including the prize-winning picture book You Choose, and the Winnie the Witch series which she writes under the pen name of Laura Owen. She trained as a teacher and worked for many years in bookselling before becoming a mother and a writer.

See Laura Owen

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

The basic premise of this book is that happiness is wealth enough, and that you can be happy when you are poor, and the wealthy will take happiness and laughter in payment.

Yeah.

OK, hit me over the head with that concept.

I get it, though. I get that we need to have laughter and music in our lives. I totally agree.

But saying that one town had only laughter and happiness and was poor, and that the wealthy did not have laughter and happiness propagates that myth that the poor are happy as they are, and that poor are miserable because wealth can not buy you happiness.



So, doens't quite work for me, but might be good for others. A bit of an odd story.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

[La Coccinelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story, almost a fable, has a really heavy-handed message. The ending is abrupt and facile. I do like the illustrations, though.

There are two villages on opposite sides of a mountain. One is wealthy, and the other is poor (but rich in happiness). One day, a boy named Pim from the poor side goes over the mountain to check out the rich side. He's amazed by the bounty in the market, but when he wants to have some fruit, he needs something to trade. He tries to bottle happiness, laughter, and love in his own village to trade for the fruit.

This goes about as well as you'd expect, and the rich villagers laugh at his foolishness. For some reason, though, this counts as positive laughter. (This is one aspect of the book I don't like. There's a difference between amused laughter and mocking laughter, as anyone who's been on the receiving end of the latter can tell you.) Then Pim starts to sing and--inexplicably--the rich people all join in and soon it's one big love fest and they're sharing their bounty. This book almost appears to be a statement about capitalism versus communism (or something like that), so the ease with which the rich folks give up their material goods seems a little unrealistic. (Besides which, if you displace the story to our world, the rich most certainly do have access to music and laughter! So I'm not even sure what the overall message of this story is supposed to be. Like it or not, we live in a capitalist society at the moment, and I'm not sure if I like the fact that this book seems to be disparaging the one village where the people are trying to make a living. It's not as if they refused to give Pim the fruit outright; they merely said he needed something to trade for it. So... the barter system is bad, too? I don't know.)

The illustrations are perhaps the strongest part of this book, if only because they're so unique. I've never seen anything like them! They're sort of patchwork watercolour drawings... with almost a Picasso-esque look to them. Lots of fun to look at. Unfortunately, the text and writing don't quite measure up to the visual aspects of the book.

Overall, this is a fairly weak fable that seems confused about what it wants to say. But I would recommend checking it out for the unique illustrations.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tiny Owl Publishing for providing a digital ARC.

[Nicola · Rating 2 out of 5]

Miss 3 and I like to explore different books and authors at the library, sometimes around particular topics or themes. We try to get different ones out every week or so; it's fun for both of us to have the variety and to look at a mix of new & favourite authors.

The illustrations are interesting. They're described as patchwork but for me it had more of a distancing effect; kind of steampunk meets fractals. Miss 3 wasn't entirely sure about the story although she liked the dog. As an adult, it kind of feels like a political fable (Capitalism v.s. Communism) rather than a traditional fairy tale.

[Fiona Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adored this book! Great messages about the importance of friendship, sharing, teamwork and appreciating what you have. It teaches children that we’re all the same no matter our background or upbringing, money does not buy happiness and that happiness is one of the most important aspects of life. We create happiness by sharing and doing wonderful things with the people around us, not by being ‘succesful’ or having materialistic items. The illustrations in this book are patchy and quirky. A must read and a new favourite!

[Moon Shine Art Spot ~ Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Description:

There was once a big mountain with two villages on either side. The people on one side were rich and worked only to get richer. The people on the other side of the mountain were poor but had a wealth of stories and laughter. One day, a poor young boy decides to seek a new story and this leads him to the rich people’s marketplace. He would love one of the ripe pieces of fruit, but what can a poor boy trade? Find out if it is possible to bottle and share happiness in this timeless fable, exquisitely illustrated in an eye-opening and unusual style.

REVIEW

I loved the patch work illustration style in A Bottle of Happiness by Pippa Goodhart. I think kids would enjoy the playfulness of the illustrations and the general message in the story. Fun for the eyes with an interesting message.

This book was given to me for the purpose of providing an honest review.

[Keranjit Kaur · Rating 4 out of 5]

How can you bottle happiness you may wonder when you see the title of this picture book. Read this book to find out!

The 3 best things about this book were:
1) the illustrations are beautifully done. I've not seen picture books with this style of artwork.
2) the story is a simple one that makes children think.
3) the message of the story: happiness can be shared and spread.

I loved sharing this book with a large group of children.

[Maria Martins · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book that teaches young children that there is more to life than material wealth. This story is about 2 villages, one that is poor and one that is rich. Despite the rich having all the fruit, jewels and fish in the world they lack happiness- something that the poor people have a lot of. Rich people eventually learn that happiness cannot be bought or measured against material wealth. I think this is an important moral for young children to learn especially in a world that constantly expects them to follow the latest trends. I think the idea of wealth inequality is something that children are faced with quite early on in their school lives. Each year there is another trend in school whether it is trading pokemon cards, fidget spinners or (as children get older) the latest iPhone. Those who cannot afford these things soon learn this and are deemed as "uncool". I think this book could help tackle this thinking.

[BrookesEducationLibrarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is certainly an interesting picture book with an important message. The illustrations are possibly the most unusual aspect of the book as they appear to be a sort of patchwork art effect, beautiful nonetheless.
The story follows two villages on either side of the mountain, one with great riches and trading and one with very little but what they do have they share. A strong message that sharing brings happiness :)

[Mathew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A richly resonant fable in which it takes a child’s perspective of the world to shift societal values on what makes us happy.

On either side of a mountain live two groups of people; each at the mercy of what resources are available to them. On one side are hard-working people who have access to great wealth in both food and gems, whilst the other side has people who work just as hard but who suffer with poor seas, soils and mining prospects. What they are rich in though is a sense of community spirit and stories. It is this family which Pim, our genderless protagonist, hails from.

In search of new stories for his people, Pim heads to the other side of the mountain and meets the wealthy community only to find that they lack the one thing his people have: happiness. What can both communities gain from each other?

Beautiful, surreal images from Eshan Abdollahi accompany Goodhart’s folkloric prose style in which action and movement take precedent over the descriptive. Richly illustrated with bright and bold colours throughout.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this picture book originally published in the United Kingdom, a boy named Pim decides to leave his village and see what's on the other side of the mountain. One side of the mountain is filled with all sorts of riches while the other side, where Pim lives with his dog Tiddle, doesn't have much wealth. But they do have plenty of stories and much happiness. When Pim asks for a fruit on the other side of the mountain, the vendor asks for payment. At first Pim thinks he has nothing to offer until he goes back home and bottles up some of the town's happiness. Somehow, when he returns for his food, happiness escapes from the bottle even though it can't be seen. Eventually, this happiness spreads, and both sides of the mountain share what they have with each other. The interesting and unique illustrations go well with this story of generosity and being happy with what we have, creating a story that has many of the characteristics of a traditional tale.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice story about the joy from sharing stories and sharing in general, as it brings happiness to others and this is actually more important than materialistic objects. I think the contrast of the two sides of the mountain show this really effectively for children and the illustrations are really quirky and eye catching, they could have a go at using different patterned paper in their art to create a collage effect. In addition, the arrangement of text makes it more interesting and engaging. Children could think of some stories they might have heard in their families or things they could share to make others happy which could link to PSHE.

[Neha Thakkar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wealthy side of the mountain, poor side of the mountain. Wealthy side makes and grows and sells more. Poor side has poor soil, no sea or jewels, but shares homes and stories. Which side is better? What is the worth of something? Can you trade a fruit for happiness and laughter? Good premise, misses the mark for me, while the illustrations are colorful and different, they are also muddy and hard to understand.

[Cat]

I'll have to pass on this one. I was impressed with the story at all and the art work just left me cold. Not sure who the intended age group is- too busy illustration wise for pre- 1st, txt too confusing. Consumerism is wrong and bad? Wealth is horrible? Communism is a good thing? Barters is better? The poor are better off as they are happy-really??? Nope didn't like it. Sorry.

I received a Kindle arc from Netgalley in exchange for a fair review.

[Lara Bate · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great story of a boy who travels over a mountain and finds a wealth of food. He asks for one but then the people said he needs to give something in return. So he went back to his poor town and collected happiness in a bottle. Despite nothing physically coming out of the bottle, he created happiness in the town.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

***Thanks to the publisher and #NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***

This book is a work or art! The illustrations jump off the page and leave me wanting more!

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I get what the story was trying to convey but I didn't think it was all that original. However, the picture were very original.

[Jenna Mills · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just bizarre

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Happiness is wealth enough is the message of this fable illustrations by Ehsan Abdollahi.

[A. · Rating 2 out of 5]

A somewhat heavy-handed modern fairy tale/fable with polarizing illustrations. A good alternative to princess-heavy stories, but not subtle.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This reminded me of The Greatest Treasure by Demi.

[Cynthia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A unique book with a good message about wealth and happiness. I loved the watercolor illustration style. The pages were so bright and cheerful, it completely engrossed me at times. I also thought it was cool how the illustrator utilized his fingerprints in the artwork.

[Maleeha Mir · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Bottle of Happiness is a wonder to behold! I couldn't get enough of Ehsan's unique and beautiful illustrations and it's unforgettable message: Happiness can be shared with everyone! Read this book and find out for yourself. The story is simple and engaging for any child to enjoy. I absolutely loved reading this picture book!

[Katrina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Trite in its message of wealthy people are selfish and hollow and poor people have nothing, so they are loving and happy. I didn’t care for the illustrations either - I think this book would lack any appeal to children.

[Stephanie Bange · Rating 4 out of 5]

"A new fable that goes full circle as it explores the value of possessions against values of friendship and fun." from the book. Commissioned by the publishers and first published in the UK in 2016, this upbeat tale demonstrates that laughter and friendship are universal to all cultures and groups of people - young and old, rich and poor.

One day a young boy from his poor village crosses the mountain that separates it from a more prosperous village. Since he has no money, he cleverly ends up trading a story, song, and merriment from his own village.

Goodhart (Americans may be familiar with her book Winnie the Witch, written under the pseudonym of "Laura Owen") delivers a light-hearted tale of unity that is not preachy nor heavy laden. The use of shaped text and larger font enriches the reading experience.

Ehsan Abdollahi's mixed media artwork has a patchwork look to it and is very effective. Rich in color, he makes great use of white spaces, as well.

Recommended for PreSchool-grade 6.

[Ella · Rating 3 out of 5]

This picture book has quite an unusual display with the text layer out in different ways on each page. Sometimes it is in straight lines, other times it is wiggly and sometimes different colours or sizes. The illustrations are very different which have the affect of a collage. The story is quite fast paced however it has a good message that suggests happiness is far more important that materialistic things.

[Sorca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great messages on the importance of friendship and happiness! Ehsan Abdollahi's illustrations are striking and unique.

[Andréa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.