1. Courage
2. Fear
3. Friendship
4. Happiness
5. History
6. Hope
7. Humour
8. Kindness
9. Nonfiction
10. Resilience
11. War
12. WW2

The ‘Happiness Box: A Wartime Book of Hope’ is a true story. During World War Two, Australian servicemen, Sergeant David Griffin and Captain Leslie Greener, were in a prisoner-of-war camp in Singapore. Together they created a hand-drawn, typed book as a Christmas present for children interned in Changi prison by the Japanese. They hoped it might chase away fear and give hope to the children.

Unfortunately, one of the character’s names was Winston, the name of then current British Prime Minister. The camp commander, General Saito, suspected the prisoners of sending secret messages and ordered the book destroyed. Instead, the book was secretly buried, retrieved after the war, returned to its author who then donated it to the State Library of New South Wales. This book toured Australia as one of more than 100 significant items exhibited in the National Treasures from Australia’s Great Libraries.

Author Mark Greenwood brings history to life in telling this story in a very matter-of-fact, direct way. There are comments about the harsh life and prisoners’ treatment by their captors, but these offer minimal detail. Andrew McLean’s illustrations feature authentic detail rendered in soft watercolours and light pen lines. These illustrations are direct and portray the harsh conditions without lingering on details.

Two pages of extra information at the back of the book provide additional background. There is a bibliography of further resources plus an additional list of sources.

Mark Greenwood says about this book, ‘I am interested in blending history and story to create picture books with resonance, and that is what is lurking deep beneath the surface of ‘The Happiness Box’ and what makes this book meaningful and important. At its core, ‘The Happiness Box’ is a story about the power of reading and how books might very well be one of the secrets to our happiness – a great message to reinforce the power of books and storytelling.’ (Source: Hope Media Ltd)

1. Facebook, Mark Greenwood, ‘Leading up to Anzac Day, a wartime story about hope and creativity in isolation’ Mark Greenwood talks about the inspiration for the book https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=808257043030692
2. CopyrightAgency Reading Australia, ‘The Happiness Box’ teaching resources created by Wendy Bean https://readingaustralia.com.au/lesson/the-happiness-box/
3. Walker Books Teacher Notes by Robyn Sheahan-Bright for ‘The Happiness Box’ file:///C:/Users/s441454/Downloads/Happiness-Box-Teacher-Notes.pdf
4. Children’s Book Council of Australia Reading Time 6 Oct 2018 review by Lynne Babbage of ‘The Happiness Box’ http://readingtime.com.au/the-happiness-box-a-wartime-book-of-hope/
5. The Never Ending Bookshelf review of ‘The Happiness Box’ 1 Aug 2018 https://nevendbookshelf.wordpress.com/2019/08/11/review-the-happiness-box-a-wartime-book-of-hope-by-mark-greenwood-and-illustrated-by-andrew-mclean/
6. Kids’ Book Review 7 Aug 2018, review by Coral Vass of ‘The Happiness Box http://www.kids-bookreview.com/2018/08/review-happiness-box-wartime-book-of.html
7. Hope Media Ltd 1032 broadcast by Anne Rinaudo 22 Aug 2018 Mark Greenwood in conversation with Stephen O’Doherty ‘The Happiness Box: The Book About a Book About a Book is a Real Treasure’ https://hope1032.com.au/stories/life/relationships/2018/the-happiness-box/
8. TROVE reproduction of the original ‘The Happiness Box’ book showing several pages as part of the exhibition ‘National Treasures from Australia’s Great Libraries’ tour which travelled to Australian capital cities from 3 December 2005 to late 2007 https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20060820093132/http://nationaltreasures.nla.gov.au/index/Treasures/item/nla.int-ex6-s12/nla.int-ex6-s15