The Short and Incredibly Happy Life of Riley
I have always hated writing book reviews. Always.
So this book review will be very short.
I absolutely, positively loved this book. (by Colin Thompson & Amy Lissiat)
The illustratrations are outrageously funny.
The message is essential, especially in this day and age, AND applicable to everyone. (Choose to be happy with less!)
I LOVED it. (And, so did my husband!)
And now we have a new saying in our family:
“Release your inner Riley!”
Disclaimer: I am Australian.
The following is a quote from the blog of Elizabeth Bird:
The Aussies are different from you and I. They’re not afraid of picture books that look like the love children of Robert Crumb and Monty Python. Take, as today’s example, a little number going by the name of “The Short and Incredibly Happy Life of Riley”. The Children’s Book Council of Australia named this title the Picture Book of the Year. This is true. And it might take some Yanks by surprise as it’s a concoction that can only be given one word: unique. Part self-help book, part searing portrait of the modern man’s psyche, and part funny mousies gamboling about with derby-laden Groucho Marx look-alikes, the book is like nothing you’ve seen before. Some will find it too preachy and some will find it too weird. I find it just right, and it’s certainly the only book of its kind I’ve ever run into. Definitely not for everyone, this title, but a heckuva lot of fun.
