From the Scholastic Bookshelf: How to Talk to Your Child About Happiness

Looking at the bright side and showing compassion for others are ways to find true happiness.

By Scholastic Parents Staff
Mar 21, 2022

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From the Scholastic Bookshelf: How to Talk to Your Child About Happiness
Mar 21, 2022

Kids are great at being happy. In fact, they could teach us adults a thing or two about what happiness looks like! So what’s there to talk about? Well, sometimes happiness doesn’t come as easily, especially when life presents us with challenges or when self-doubt takes over. 

Helping children to consider the positive side of things (while still acknowledging their feelings) can eventually put them in a happier frame of mind. Performing acts of kindness and being one’s authentic self are other ways children can reignite the feeling we call happiness, especially as their relationships become more complex with age. 

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For its 100th anniversary, Scholastic spoke with experts to identify a set of books for early readers that make starting a conversation with your child about happiness easier. These resources are part of a broader initiative, called the Scholastic Bookshelf, created for Instagram to raise awareness around contemporary issues affecting children today.

Zen Happiness is a primer on well-being for kids in grades K-2. This wise and beautifully illustrated picture book is filled with meditative affirmations like “Be kind to yourself” that you and your child can take turns reading. Promoting the importance of self-love, this book of truisms is like a blanket of good feelings your child can return to again and again. If your child loves this book, they can also practice mindfulness with this Stillwater Activity Pack.

Kids practicing their phonics get a special treat with Groovy Joe: Ice Cream & Dinosaurs, which uses rhyme and repetition to remind children that life is good. As the opening “lyrics” by this canine crooner go, “Groovy Joe was living the dream.” Even when hungry dinosaurs come for his doggy ice cream, Groovy Joe knows what to do and has them sharing in no time. It’s a hilarious hoedown from the best-selling author of Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes that will leave your young reader feeling creative and kind.
Much like its title suggests, Be You! is a celebration of individuality — a key part of understanding what makes one feel happy. From Peter H. Reynolds, author of the The Dot and the New York Times best seller The Word Collector, this book encourages children to “be your own work of art.” It’s a reminder of what makes us all unique and special. 

Be sure to visit the Scholastic Bookshelf for more resources on happiness. If you’re planning to talk with your child about other complex topics and seek tips or book recommendations, visit our Tough Topics hub. You’ll find a wealth of advice from Scholastic editors to help you navigate challenging conversations thoughtfully, including those about:

Raise a Reader Blog
Reading
Age 3
Age 4
Age 5
Age 6
Age 7
Happiness