When I am Happiest (My Happy Life). This item is unavailable.When I am Happiest (My Happy Life)

A standalone follow-up to the acclaimed and beloved chapter books My Happy Life and My Heart is Laughing.

Dani is very happy—it's the last day of school, and summer is about to start. But then there's a knock on the classroom door, and Dani is told her father has been in an accident. He's in the hospital! How can she possibly be happy now?

A warm and heartfelt story about Dani's love for her dad and her ongoing friendship with Ella. It's a story about sorrow and joy—and how life really is.

"Dani is at school when she learns that her father was hit by a car while cycling to work. Staying with her grandparents, she first feels bewildered and then overwhelmed by sadness as well as fears for her only parent. Grandpa takes her to the hospital, where her voice wakens her father from a coma. The knowledge that he will recover makes it possible for Dani to regain her equilibrium. Soon she is making plans to spend the summer with her dearest friend, Ella. Lagercrantz has never shied away from tough topics in the Dani series. As in My Happy Life (2013) and My Heart Is Laughing (2014), the honest portrayal of powerful childhood emotions is the cornerstone of her writing, and it makes this story wholly engaging and ultimately cathartic. Translated from the Swedish, this chapter book has a short text, wide-spaced lines, and many expressive illustrations. Eriksson's crosshatched ink drawings perfectly capture the characters' actions and moods. A memorable addition to the Dani series."--Booklist

"Young Dani is back in the third installment of the series. As in My Happy Life (2013) and My Heart Is Laughing (2014, both Gecko Pr.), Dani tends to see the good in most situations and is usually happy. Starting on the penultimate day of her first year of school, everything once again looks sunny; she looks forward to wearing a new dress and singing on the last day. However, her resilient personality is put to the test when she learns that her father was hit by a car while riding his bike and he may not wake up. Dani struggles with trying to find the positive when her world is turned upside down. The story lines of the previous to books were built around Dani's mostly jovial relationships with her father and her best friend, Ella, who had moved away. This new volume shifts to heavier subject matter. Now, Dani has to find support from her grandparents and her cousin, Sven, while navigating her uncertain future. One bright spot for the protagonist is the book she is writing about the time she was happiest--if she can find it within her to be happy again, that is. Eriksson's delightful black-and-white drawings help to soften the severity of the subject matter, as their sweetness comes through the characters' expressions. VERDICT Though this title is more serious than the first two installments, those who are fans of Dani will applaud her resiliency and attitude."--School Library Journal

"Dani, the original positive thinker, has her capacity for joy sorely tested in this, the third of the Dani and Ella volumes (My Happy Life, rev. 7/13; My Heart Is Laughing, rev. 11/14). Dani has sadness in her life, but she usually elects not to think about it. However, when her father is badly injured in a bicycle accident and ends up unconscious in the hospital, the little girl faces 'something she can't not think.' The reliable comforts of her life--grandparents, nature, best friend Ella, hamsters, and writing--kick in, but not before Dani experiences a dark night of the soul. The genius of these books lies in the simple but original kid details that keep the focus firmly on the young characters. When cousin Sven hears of the accident, he asks, 'Is he very...run over?' Dani's bond with Old Jimmy's dog is that they both enjoy 'going around and sniffing things.' Adults are present but restrained. After Dani is told about the tragedy, Bee, who works in the principal's office, offers her no bromides. She just wraps her 'big cardigan' around Dani's shoulders and sits with her under the coat hooks. Nuanced line drawings add microplots: the picture of Dani getting her ears pierced (in flashback) shows her stoic and calm, while her father looks as though he's going to throw up. An affecting early chapter book with a hopeful--if not yet altogether happy--ending."--The Horn Book Magazine