Ned and the Joybaloo

Gorgeous, whimsicle illustrations accompany a moving story that teaches children the importance of cultivating imagination and finding their own joy

Ned is grumpy every day except for Friday,—that is the day when his Joybaloo comes to visit him. The Joybaloo is a magical creature that breathes paper roses and opens up Ned's mind to all the wonderful adventures life has to offer him if he only uses his imagination. All through the night they play the most wonderful games—they use laughter to propel themselves up past the stars and into the Joybaloo's playgrounds, where they swim in warm, fast streams and explore in the long grasses for hours on end. Then, unfortunately, it's finally time for the Joybaloo to go back to sleep. They make a promise to meet again every Friday until forever. But one day the Joybaloo disappears and Ned has no choice but to learn how to make his own joy. Can he learn to be happy on his own?

Hiawyn Oram has had more than 90 children's books published, including The Giant Surprise: A Narnia Story, The Second Princess, The Wrong Overcoat, and the Mona the Vampire series. She has received many prizes and awards for her work, including being shortlisted for the Smarties Prize for The Second Princess. Satoshi Kitamura is a Mother Goose Award and Smarties Prize–winning author-illustrator, whose books include Millie's Marvelous Hat and What's Wrong with My Hair? They previously collaborated on A Boy Wants a Dinosaur.