Jazmine is very sad. She misses her Daddy. She misses all the things they used to do together: the books they read, the fun things they did at the park. It's not easy losing a loved one, and Jazmine is having difficulty understanding why her Daddy had to die. None of her friends at school understand, and sometimes Jazmine feels mad when she sees them having fun with their Daddy. Mommy realizes Jazmine is having a difficult time. She arranges for her daughter to attend a grief support group for children. Jazmine's not too sure, but after listening to other children her age talk about losing their Mommy or Daddy, she finds it easier to open up about her feelings.

Ta'Shay Mason's picture book story, It's Ok To Be Happy: A Child's Journey Through Grief, Book 2, is a tender and compassionate presentation of grief and the pain and sorrow losing a loved one leaves behind. The plot follows a little girl, Jazmine, as she shares her feelings from sadness to brief moments of happiness and anger until she meets others facing the same feelings of loss. She can come to terms with her life without her Daddy. It's not easy for Jazmine, but with a positive and loving support group: her Mommy, her Cousin Jimmy and the new friends she makes at the grief support group, Jazmine can resolve her emotions. Grief and loss of a loved one are difficult to discuss for any age group, but this compassionate presentation, complete with beautiful, colorful illustrations, will certainly help young readers dealing with the same issues as Jazmine. As Jazmine learns and shares with young readers, losing a loved one might be difficult to accept, but life still goes on.

Death is a very sensitive issue and is much harder to address with a young child who has had such an experience. Often adults find it a slightly uncomfortable subject. It’s Ok To Be Happy! by Ta’shay Mason is the second book in A Child’s Journey Through Grief series that provides a good solution, to what could be an awkward topic to approach. We have already reviewed the first book of the series But I don’t want to say GOODBYE!  that covers a range of possible reactions and emotions from the perspective of a little girl who has just lost her father and isn’t ready to say goodbye while her mother puts together a funeral to share nice stories and celebrate her father’s life.  The second book continues to follow the little girl’s journey as she is trying to live a life without her father. It explores the difficult feelings and emotions of saying goodbye and missing someone very much.

The book suggests various ways to remember the loved one like creating a memory book for them, doing their parent’s favorite thing, and joining a support group to express their feelings. This book is a really good resource to use during R.E lessons to explore the subject of death. Death is not a subject to hide away from or ignore, children want to be heard. Children who may have had these experiences may after hearing this story feel slightly reassured in the fact that it’s alright to move forward. It creates a sense of understanding of the world, its life cycle-that life goes on and with that, we can create new memories, not necessarily replacing the old ones or forgetting them. With beautiful illustrations and child-friendly language, this book is a lovely resource for offering reassurance to children who have experienced the loss of a parent.

Overall, this book deals with grief in a very clever and sensitive way.