The Happy Book is very simple. The reader goes about exploring feelings via different “books” within the main story. The end.
However, it is a smidgen more complicated that than. There are numerous puns (one narrator is Happy Camper, and yes, he is happy and an old school Boy Scout camper; the other is Happy Clam who is happy and well, a clam) the art of the illustrations has to be closely watched as there are details in the story’s art and text (plus fun surprise like the red chicken reminded me of Sam the Eagle of Muppet fame) as well as the message that comes across loud, clear and very rainbowy.
The book is broken up in several sections. The first is the Yellow Section or the Happy Book. When something happens in the Happy book, our narrators leave Happy book and head into the Blue Book or the Sad Book. When signals get mixed and feelings hurt, off to Red and the Angry Book we go. But when Happy Camper and Happy Clam realize that their friendship might just be over, they find themselves being scared and enter the Green Book or (you got it) the Scared Book. But (spoiler) we do not need to fear, it will all work out in the end and you enter the Feelings Book! Here the rainbow of colors and feelings all come together in one happy, sad, angry, scared combination.
Andy Rash’s text and art will not be for everyone, but they have created a new, less serious, way of exploring the feelings even adults experience.