Spotlight & Giveaway: Happy Dreamer by Peter H. Reynolds!

Welcome to a special post featuring Peter H. Reynolds’s Happy Dreamer and a giveaway, courtesy of Scholastic!

Read on to find out more about Happy Dreamer, my thoughts on the picture book, and how you can enter to win a copy. Thank you to Scholastic for sending me a copy for review.

About the Book

Happy Dreamer by Peter H. Reynolds
Release: March 28, 2017, recommended for ages 4-8

In the same spirit as OH, ALL THE PLACES YOU’LL GO!, the beloved, worldwide bestselling creator of The Dot and Ish inspires readers of every age to find their own unique path to happy, and to always follow their dreams with HAPPY DREAMER.

Picture book and creativity guru Peter H. Reynolds brings us a universally poignant celebration of the colorful spectrum of what it means to dream and the many ways to find happy!

While the world tells us to sit still, to follow the rules, and to color inside the lines, Happy Dreamer celebrates all those moments in between when the mind and spirit soar and we are free to become our own true dreamer maximus! In Peter’s signature voice and style, this empowering picture book reminds children of how much their dreams matter, and while life will have ups and downs, he enlists readers to stay true to who they are, to tap into their most creative inner selves, and to never ever forget to dream big!

Peter H. Reynolds’ latest inspirational book is a perfect gift for graduations, new babies, milestone moments, and any happy occasion throughout the year for any age!

Peter H. Reynolds has quite the number of acclaimed (and loved) picture books on his roster: everything from The Dot, Sky Color, Ish, to his illustrative work for the Judy Moody series, Someday and Tess’s Tree. Reynolds’s work encapsulates a kind of lovely positivity- always gently uplifting but not saccharine- and I consider myself quite a fan! Happy Dreamer is an ode to the ones who dream (excuse the La La Land nod!); the quiet dreamers, the loud dreamers, the colourful dreamers, the individuals who don’t fit and don’t feel right when forced into a tidy box. A broad theme in Reynolds’s work is that of expression and staying true to one’s self: that message carries across in Happy Dreamer with a lovely missive that the ‘best way to be a happy dreamer’ is to be one’s self. It is tricky to balance sweetness, guidance, praising individuality and proffering hope without veering off into a lane of moralizing, but Reynolds keeps the line firmly in the corner of encouragement.In the description above, comparisons are made to Oh, the Places You’ll Go!– a longtime staple (and standard) of gifts-to-grads. I personally have not reached the high levels of affinity for this particular Dr. Seuss title as many other readers have, but I would still like to content that Happy Dreamer is indeed as wonderful an inspirational bookish treat, just the right thing to hearten and show love and appreciation. The heartening, compassionate nature of his picture books often reminds me of work by authors such as Alison McGhee, as well as the work of Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Patrick McDonnell. Any readers who have already read and enjoyed Reynolds’ previous work or have enjoyed work by the aforementioned authors might especially appreciate Happy Dreamer.

About the Author

Peter is a New York Times bestselling children’s book author and illustrator of many books for children, including the Judy Moody series, written by Meghan McDonald; The Dot; Ish; Sky Color; and Allison McGhee’s Someday, selling more than two million books in over 25 languages around the globe. In 1996, he founded FableVision with his brother Paul as a social change agency to help move the world to a better place by creating “stories that matter, stories that move.” He lives in Dedham, Massachusetts, with his family.

Official Site + Social Media

Visit the official site
Follow Scholastic on Twitter and Instagram
Like Scholastic on Facebook
#HappyDreamer

Trailer + Activities:

*Watch the Happy Dreamer trailer
*Download the Happy Dreamer Guide, a fun kit complete with activities to share with your readers!

Peter H. Reynolds Interview

*Learn more in this podcast featuring the author!

Giveaway Information:

One (1) winner receives:

• a copy of Happy Dreamer

Giveaway open to Canadian AND US addresses. Prizing provided by Scholastic.

The giveaway will run from April 20th to April 27th, 2017 and is open to Canadian and US addresses. The winning entry will be randomly selected via Rafflecopter. All entries will be verified. Winner will have 48 hours to respond to me via email at fabbookreviews[at]gmail[dot]com OR DM’ing me via Twitter with their mailing address, or a new entry will be drawn.

To enter, click on the Rafflecopter link below and follow the instructions:

Enter to win the Happy Dreamer giveaway!

 

A copy of Happy Dreamer was provided courtesy of Scholastic in exchange for an honest review and for the purposes of this giveaway. Review comments and opinions are my own.