Nobel Peace Prize winners His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu share their own childhood struggles to show young readers how they can thrive and find joy even during the most challenging times in this picture book adaptation of the international bestseller The Book of Joy.
If you just focus on the thing that is making you sad, then the sadness is all you see. But if you look around, you will see that joy is everywhere.
In their only collaboration for children, His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu use their childhood stories to show young people how to find joy even in hard times and why sharing joy with others makes it grow. The two spiritual masters tell a simple story, vibrantly brought to life by bestselling illustrator Rafael López, of how every child has joy inside them, even when it sometimes hides, and how we can find it, keep it close, and grow it by sharing it with the world.
Sprung from the friendship, humor, and deep affection between these holy men, the book is a perfectly timed and important gift from two revered spiritual leaders to children. It is a reminder that joy is abundant—no matter what challenges we face—and has the power to transform the world around us even in the darkest of times.
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is the spiritual leader of the Tibetan People and of Tibetan Buddhism. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 and the US Congressional Gold Medal in 2007. The Dalai Lama has traveled the world to promote kindness and compassion, interfaith understanding, respect for the environment, and, above all, world peace. He lives in exile in Dharamsala, India.
Desmond Mpilo Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus of Southern Africa, was a prominent leader in the crusade for justice and reconciliation in South Africa. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009. Archbishop Tutu was regarded as a leading moral voice and an icon of hope.
Rafael López is the illustrator of two #1 New York Times bestsellers, The Day You Begin and Just Ask! His illustrations bring diverse characters to children’s books to reflect and honor the lives of all young people. He has won three Pura Belpré Awards, the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award, and the Schneider Family Book Award. He works with children and families to create community murals. Rafael splits his time between San Diego and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
"It’s hard to imagine anyone in the world more qualified to deliver such a message than these two...López expands the simply delivered proposal in fresh and lyrical ways." -
Kirkus Reviews
"With unalloyed optimism, the pages earnestly lean into the creators’ comforting promise:'As it spreads from person to person, the world will fill with JOY.'" -
Publishers Weekly "The pages glow...For children who find themselves in a puzzling and difficult world, this work can offer hope and guidance." -
School Library Journal
