When sadness comes to call by Eva Eland

Andersen Press, 2020. ISBN: 9781783447954. pbk., 32pp.
(Age: 5+) When sadness calls the images in this book show the child trying to deal with the cloud that hangs over his head. At first he tries to shut it away, then he finds that he becomes the sadness so must find another way of dealing with it. The book shows the child grappling with the cloud: giving it a name, talking to it, doing things together, taking it outside.
Each strategy offers the child feeling sad a way to deal with it themselves: trying different activities, walking in the park, playing games. By accepting that this sadness will come along, the child develops mechanisms to help him cope with its existence.
This book would be a good starter to talk to children who may suffer some bouts of sadness and depression. It is a starting point that some may need to discuss with children, as well as a starter for children to open up about their own misgivings.
Strategies are given which may help children think about how to cope with feelings of sadness, and certainly with help and guidance may find the book a useful tool within a self help program.
The reduced illustrative technique serves to reduce the sad feelings to their basics; there are no intrusive backgrounds to distract the reader, but simply a child in need with a blue cloud hanging overhead. The endpapers too, reveal other people with sad feelings, broadening the topic for the child to see he is not alone. Themes: Depression, Sadness, Emotions.
Fran Knight