The story follows the kitten as it jumps and bounds around the house, chasing its toy and leaving a trail of care-free mess behind. The succinct, rhythmic text flows and intertwines with the illustrations wonderfully, it has such an uplifting feel that I almost found myself singing the words while my children carefully focused on the pages in anticipation.
Joy builds and rolls toward a beautiful message of love between the kitten and its parent, which adults and their children will relate to; and in our case, a second read request which I could not refuse.
The scene is set beautifully with watercolour textures in mixed media illustrations balancing with text, white space and movement. Happy faces on many pages, movement lines which my kids traced their fingers over and a spot varnish cover made it feel cheerful and interactive.
Wonderful to read to a group or more interactively with individuals, Joy is literally a joy to read!
Yasmeen Ismail is an award-winning author, illustrator and animator, some of her other books include Time for Bed, Fred!, Specs for Rex and Christmas for Greta and Gracie. Jenni Desmond is also an award-winning illustrator, she has illustrated many books including The First Slodge, The Blue Whale and Backstage Cat.
Title: Joy
Author: Yasmeen Ismail
Illustrator: Jenni Desmond
Publisher: Walker Books Ltd, $24.99
Publication Date: 1 June 2019
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781406385205
For ages: 3+
Type: Picture Book