Pharrell Williams

This book HAPPY! is a celebrity authored children's book inspired by Pharrell Williams song "Happy". In fact, the text is merely the song lyrics broken up and splashed on the pages. While the song might be enjoyable, it does not fair well in book format. The flow and meter is awkward to read out loud and some of the lines are simply not coherent - for example: "With the air, like I don't care baby by the way". This would not fly for a non-celebrity author. Perhaps the only good thing about show more the book are the illustrations, which are actually real photographs rather than drawn pictures. I liked this part of the book and it is a shame the photographer receives little to no credit. I would not recommend the use of this book in the classroom. show less

This title is an illustrated version of Pharrell Williams's hit song "Happy" (from the movie Despicable Me 2, as the book repeatedly reminds reader).

The illustrations are photographs of children dressing up, dancing around, etc. set among paper-cut backgrounds. The photographs are full of liveliness and fun, featuring children of various ages, sizes, hair styles, and skin tones. This level of diversity was lovely to see.

However, that doesn't make up for the book merely being the written show more song lyrics. Considering I'm not really a huge fan of the song to begin with, this book wasn't super appealing. For kids who love the song though, they might be far more interested in checking this book out.

A note from Williams at the end encourages children to go out and make others smile, which is a great message to share. show less

I liked this book for a couple of reasons. The first reason I like the book is because you need the illustrations in order to understand the story. For instance, when the author writes “It might seem crazy what I’m about to say” there is a photo of a boy whispering over to 3 young girls. The reader wouldn’t be able to understand the author writing without the illustration. Speaking of writing, the second reason I enjoyed this book was because the writing was the actual lyrics of the show more popular song. This is great for young students who are beginning to chorally read because the writing is patterned and engaging. The chorus “because I’m happy” engages young readers in the writing. The big message is to find your own happiness no matter what. show less

This is the song “Happy” by Pharrell Williams, but in book form. The lyrics were simply slapped onto pages with clever photographs to accompany them. The photos are very cute, but the photographer barely gets credit, which is disappointing because those photos are the only thing that I enjoy about the book. It does not read well, because it was first a song. For example, one page reads, “With the air, like I don’t care baby, by the way.” It is awkward to read, and although it has a show more very positive message, I absolutely hate it. This is an example of a book written by a celebrity “author” that has no educational value whatsoever and it will most definitely not be in my classroom. show less