Uppoaa varmaan ikäryhmäänsä ja laitan vinkkaukseen, mutta aikuisena tämä on... ( )

Independent Reading Level: Grade 3
Awards: August Prize & Lindgren Prize

My 5 year old loved this book. The text complexity/chapter length was at the perfect level where she could read it for herself, she loved the pictures, and the story engaged her right away. ( )

This book opens as Dani tries to fall asleep by counting all the times in her life she has been happy. Along with those happy times, she remembers some not so happy. Her mother died when she was very young and she lives with her father. Then, in her first year of school, her best friend moves away! But Dani stays positive. Lagercrantz excellently captures the buoyancy and optimism of childhood through the story of Dani’s life.

The text is suitable for a first or second grade reading level. Rarely is such emotion packed into so few and simple words! The illustrations flow smoothly with the text and are just as important in telling the story. It was surprising to me how exactly Eriksson could capture movement and expressions in her drawings.

Be sure to check out the other books in this series as well, My Heart is Laughing, When I Am Happiest, and Life According to Dani, to continue reading the tale of Dani’s happy life. Parents will want to read these charming books when their children have finished!

Reviewed by
Elizabeth L. / Branch Assistant ( )

Genre:Early chapter book
Age appropriateness: 6 - 8 years
Review: Dani is looking forward to start school, but as she and her father approach the building, she begins to worry. Will she like her new teacher? Will she feel alone? Soon Dani and her classmate Ella become best friends, they sit together, play together, eating lunch together on a daily basis and even have occasional sleepovers. When Ella moves away, Dani is forlorn, and every other hurt is magnified by her sorrow. Her father’s gift of hamsters cheers her up a bit, but it takes some time, reflection, correspondence with Ella, and a promised visit before Dani feels whole again. it is a honest story and so genuine that it reflects the real life of children and their worries.In general, it is a sweet story about a little girl and how she faced the trials and traumas in her life, and came up triumphant every time
it is an early chapter book because it is aiming at intermediate reader, generally from 7-10. It tells story through prose rather than picture, it is fairly short and has been divided into short chapter to meet with children's limited attention span. ( )