This delicate and sensitive picture book is ideal for sadness in all its many manifestations. We are never told why the child is sad, but it is clear that Sadness has arrived with his little suitcase, and it looks like it's here to stay. It's a friendly-looking greenish, ghostly blob, a character in itself, and the child must learn how to help both it and him or herself. Sadness is very needy, cuddling up to the child and following him about. Shoving it in a cupboard doesn't help at all. There are some good suggestions. Why not make a friend of Sadness, do happy things with it - like drinking cocoa, drawing pictures, or going for a walk in the woods. 'Maybe all it wants to know is that it is welcome.' And it can disappear very suddenly! 'Don't worry - today is a new day.' The line drawings in brown with touches of pink and soft green are outstanding and beautifully reflect the theme of the story. This could be a book that will be read again and again as a child faces the inevitable sadnesses that come to us all.