Happy Hunting Book
The Story:
Happy Hunting is the story of Liza, a girl who wakes up one morning believing she’s lost her HAPPY. When her mom suggests she go hunting for it, Liza’s adventure begins. Along her journey she finds her HAPPY in simple things – like her dog, friends, nature – and discovers that these things help her reconnect with the HAPPY that lives inside of her.
The Problem:
We all struggle to find our happiness sometimes. It can be especially elusive for kids when they become overly focused on outer sources, particularly superficial ones like being popular, looking a certain way, being the best or having lots of stuff.
Without a strong sense of who they are and what brings them true happiness and joy, kids can become more vulnerable, susceptible to stress, anxiety, low moods and depression as they mature.
How the Story addresses the Problem:
Happy Hunting is a playful story that can simply be enjoyed! It can also be used in a variety of ways to plant seeds, start conversations, develop emotional literacy and even introduce happy habits for life. Here’s how…
Enjoyment:
The benefits of reading for enjoyment are many and far reaching. Learn 6 ways reading with your kids can increase their health and happiness, plus get a free Readers' Funsheet to make it even more, well, FUN!
Planting seeds and starting conversations:
Included at the end of the book, the Happy HeART Activity offers a blank canvas for kids to explore their many sources of happiness, so they can hold these inside their hearts and access them anytime. Talking about or even merely imagining these sources can cause natural “feel-good-chemicals" to flood their brains and bodies, shift their moment-to-moment experience and plant the seeds of practices that can grow into lasting habits.
Developing emotional literacy:
The Happy HeART Lesson gives adults a road-map for using the book and the Happy HeART Activity as teaching tools to introduce a range of feelings, make predictions, spark imagination, develop empathy and more.
Introducing happy habits for life:
We believe simple yet powerful happy habits grow healthy hearts, minds and bodies. This is why each one of the habits is touched upon within the story. When sharing Happy Hunting adults can choose to investigate none, any or all of the habits with kids:
From the beginning Liza notices, shares and cares for her feelings. Wishing to transform her BLAH feeling, she tries something new by going on a happy hunt. During her hunt, Liza slows down and looks for her happiness while spending time outside in nature. Experiencing kindness from others, Liza begins to have fun and her seemingly lost happy is found again. In the end, she feels thankful and celebrates with drinks and cookies made from real food using Liza's cookie recipe.
​
Whether enjoyed for entertainment or used as a teaching tool, Happy Hunting provides an opportunity for adults to connect with kids and share the positive message that
​
Happy’s here and happy’s there, if you look it’s everywhere.
​
Find more Free Happy Printables to support the story, expand on its message and simply have fun with it!
​To help kids read Happy Hunting more easily on their own we chose a special font. The innovative Dyslexie Font incorporates a number of features including distinctly formed letters, bolder capitals and extra space between letters and separating words.
​