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Finding Grateful
A heartfelt picture book that celebrates embracing the moment and finding gratitude right here, right now.
What does grateful look like? How does it feel? How do you find it? Even in the face of a challenge, you don’t need a You just need to pay attention to the little things—a smile, a hug, the smell of newly cut grass—that add up to a sense of presence and hope.
With evocative, lyrical prose, this warmly illustrated children's book is a reminder to pause, reflect, and take in the glimmers of positivity and connection that can be found amid even the most difficult circumstances. Both a timely meditation on finding gratitude in everyday moments and a timeless ode to the simple joy of truly being present, Finding Grateful encourages readers to slow down and embrace the beauty of being right where they are.
MODELS Kids aren’t immune to the stress and anxiety of an uncertain future—far from it! This book offers powerful tools for reclaiming their thoughts and emotions in difficult practicing awareness, staying open to and present in the world around them, and finding moments of gratitude each and every day.
CELEBRATES THE BEAUTY IN SMALL This picture book's embrace of joy in everyday moments will resonate with parents of observant and curious children who are fascinated by everything in their world.
MAKES BIG FEELINGS MORE Teaching social and emotional skills to kids is more important than ever, and this expressive book models a thoughtful, engaging way of emerging from difficult moments with lasting feelings of gratitude.
A WARM With its accessible and soothing tone, this exuberant yet gentle picture book is just right for reading to kids and for kids reading independently.
Perfect
What does grateful look like? How does it feel? How do you find it? Even in the face of a challenge, you don’t need a You just need to pay attention to the little things—a smile, a hug, the smell of newly cut grass—that add up to a sense of presence and hope.
With evocative, lyrical prose, this warmly illustrated children's book is a reminder to pause, reflect, and take in the glimmers of positivity and connection that can be found amid even the most difficult circumstances. Both a timely meditation on finding gratitude in everyday moments and a timeless ode to the simple joy of truly being present, Finding Grateful encourages readers to slow down and embrace the beauty of being right where they are.
MODELS Kids aren’t immune to the stress and anxiety of an uncertain future—far from it! This book offers powerful tools for reclaiming their thoughts and emotions in difficult practicing awareness, staying open to and present in the world around them, and finding moments of gratitude each and every day.
CELEBRATES THE BEAUTY IN SMALL This picture book's embrace of joy in everyday moments will resonate with parents of observant and curious children who are fascinated by everything in their world.
MAKES BIG FEELINGS MORE Teaching social and emotional skills to kids is more important than ever, and this expressive book models a thoughtful, engaging way of emerging from difficult moments with lasting feelings of gratitude.
A WARM With its accessible and soothing tone, this exuberant yet gentle picture book is just right for reading to kids and for kids reading independently.
Perfect
44 pages, Hardcover
Published April 16, 2024
80 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
December 18, 2025
I am grateful I found this book. It came across my desk and I decided to rent it out. The world can seem heavy sometimes. But remembering to be grateful in everyday life has helped me immensely.
In the book, the little girl and her mom are on a walk in the city. They find different things to be grateful for—a flower poking through the sidewalk, a puppy in the park, a hug after a skinned knee. This is a calming book, a book that reminds us to be present and be thankful for all that life has to offer. I am thankful for this book.
If you read this, I am thankful for you, too.
Mia’s 2nd Year of Books: Day 283
In the book, the little girl and her mom are on a walk in the city. They find different things to be grateful for—a flower poking through the sidewalk, a puppy in the park, a hug after a skinned knee. This is a calming book, a book that reminds us to be present and be thankful for all that life has to offer. I am thankful for this book.
If you read this, I am thankful for you, too.
Mia’s 2nd Year of Books: Day 283
July 8, 2024
This story opens when a young girl and her Mama are driving through town and their car overheats. This problem is implied by the illustrations and isn't even mentioned because the focus is on finding things for which to be grateful. As the two walk home, they play in the park, run in a spinkler, buy ice cream, and notice the smaller joys life has to offer - if only we take the time to look. The story ends as the pair arrive home and the tow truck dekivers the car to the driveway.
March 5, 2024
What is ‘grateful’ – and how do you find it? What a fantastic question for a picture book to explore! Taking Mama’s advice to “be where your feet are” a young girl notices all kinds of things throughout her day. The smell of newly cut grass. A cold sprinkler on a hot day. A smile from a neighbor. “Can grateful be a smile?” she wonders. “Can toes be grateful?” Grateful can be a lot of things. And caregivers will be grateful to have this sweet book to share with little ones!
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May 7, 2024Good for mindfulness or gratefulness/thanksgiving storytimes.
April 8, 2024
This is a wonderful heartwarming read-aloud book with gorgeous illustrations. I love how this book offers powerful tools for reclaiming a child’s thoughts and emotions in difficult situations and embracing the joy in everyday moments. In today’s world with so much stress and anxiety, helping children learn about social and developing emotional skills is more important than ever. I am sure parents will be grateful for how this story helps guide their children and enlighten them on how to point out the world around us and encourage their young ones to find moments of gratitude daily and talk about them.
Everyone will be drawn to the fabulous illustrations Faith Pray created to help tell the story. The text and illustrations make Finding Grateful just right for reading to children, kids learning to read, and reading independently. This book is a perfect year-round gift. Parents and children will want to read over and over again.
Everyone will be drawn to the fabulous illustrations Faith Pray created to help tell the story. The text and illustrations make Finding Grateful just right for reading to children, kids learning to read, and reading independently. This book is a perfect year-round gift. Parents and children will want to read over and over again.
April 18, 2024
Teaching kids the idea of gratitude can be tough especially when our day starts off on the wrong foot. Even as adults, we need reminders to find the good in our days. This book can help all of us notice the little and big things in our days and find the joy in them.
A mom and daughter have car trouble and head off on foot to get help. Of course, it would be easy to be frustrated but the mom encourages her daughter to find grateful. From a flower peeking up through the concrete to a wave from a neighbor to a hug after a skinned knee, there is always something to be grateful for.
It’s easy to focus on the stresses of our days, but this book helps us reframe our thinking and pass that on to our children rather than grumbling about our frustrations. Reading this book might just help your kids keep you on the path to being grateful as well.
A mom and daughter have car trouble and head off on foot to get help. Of course, it would be easy to be frustrated but the mom encourages her daughter to find grateful. From a flower peeking up through the concrete to a wave from a neighbor to a hug after a skinned knee, there is always something to be grateful for.
It’s easy to focus on the stresses of our days, but this book helps us reframe our thinking and pass that on to our children rather than grumbling about our frustrations. Reading this book might just help your kids keep you on the path to being grateful as well.
January 19, 2024
Dianne White has penned another beautiful, lyrical picture book, this one about finding joy and gratitude in the little things in life. When their car breaks down, a little girl and her mama have to walk back home. The very first line sets the tone: “Mama says you don’t need a map to find grateful..” And off we go as we find grateful in a dandelion poking through the concrete, a friendly smile, a cold sprinkler, a friendly puppy. Faith Pray’s soft, pastel illustrations add to the dreamy tone. A beautiful ode to gratitude and a gentle reminder to all of us to slow down and notice the many wonderful things around us.
April 1, 2024
I have twin granddaughters, now 2 years old. Since the girls were very young, it’s been such a joy to go for a walk with them as they began to joyfully notice the world around them. They very loudly point and make excited sounds as they see a squirrel, a dog or even an airplane in the sky. Just recently my son sent us a video of their trip to a pet store where they encountered an aquarium full of mice for the first time. They simply couldn’t contain themselves as they pointed and squealed with delight. I am so grateful for their joy and I’m eager to share this charming story with them and to talk about being grateful. Their joy really reminds me to find joy in our everyday lives.
The sweet little girl in this lovely, gentle book reminds me so much of my girls. She invites us to go on a walk with her and her mom. Faith Pray’s illustrations, which are as warm and as inviting as ever, help us to imagine our heroine’s walk on her search for finding grateful. As she walks, she shares her mother’s wise words “grateful means noticing this thing, that thing, anything, really …be where your feet are; that means pay attention.” Our little girl begins to notice things - a flower emerging from a crack in the sidewalk, a friendly smile, a bunny, a yellow bird’s song. And she wonders, has she found grateful?
I’m so excited to curl up with my girls and share this story. Then we’ll go on a walk and discover grateful together. `
The sweet little girl in this lovely, gentle book reminds me so much of my girls. She invites us to go on a walk with her and her mom. Faith Pray’s illustrations, which are as warm and as inviting as ever, help us to imagine our heroine’s walk on her search for finding grateful. As she walks, she shares her mother’s wise words “grateful means noticing this thing, that thing, anything, really …be where your feet are; that means pay attention.” Our little girl begins to notice things - a flower emerging from a crack in the sidewalk, a friendly smile, a bunny, a yellow bird’s song. And she wonders, has she found grateful?
I’m so excited to curl up with my girls and share this story. Then we’ll go on a walk and discover grateful together. `
April 16, 2024
After their car breaks down, a mother and daughter go through the city by foot. While the daughter is initially discouraged, the mother promises her that "You don't need a map to find grateful. It's as easy as walking in the middle of any time, any place." The mother encourages her to pay attention to what is happening around her, and once the girl is able to live in the moment, 'grateful' appears in lots of places: a neighbor's smile, a cold sprinkler on a hot day-a flower pushing up through a crack in the pavement. The story is told in the voice of the young girl, using spare and evocative prose. The soft pastel line illustrations by Faith Pray are gorgeous. I was especially impressed by the illustrator's ability to capture the dynamic movements of a young child. This book is a lovely meditation on how mindfulness can be a gateway to gratitude.
May 17, 2024
Finding Grateful, by Dianne While, illustrated by Faith Pray is a book I am grateful for. Set in a busy city, we see a young child going to the park with her mother. She becomes increasingly aware of her surroundings and chooses what to pay attention to. From the opening sentence, “Mama says you don’t need a map to find grateful,” we are taken on a journey of discovery. Pray’s illustrations give us unique moments of child-centered perspective. A wonderful double-spread illustration shows busy city legs passing a clump of flowers that peek out from the sidewalk. The child has crouched down to “pay attention.” The book reminds us to see the positive everywhere. When you do, you are “grateful for this day, today, right here where my feet are.”
April 16, 2024
“Mama says you don’t need a map to find grateful.” In Dianne White and Faith Pray’s FINDING GRATEFUL, after their car breaks down, a child relates how her mama encourages her to notice “this thing/that thing/anything, really.” The child realizes she can find grateful in a smile, or “a cold spray on a hot day.” She pays attention to wiggling toes, and the smell of honeysuckle, indeed, to all the wonder of the here and now. The uplifting, lyrical prose will sweep readers along, and it’s deftly illustrated in an appealing, fully-rendered yet sketchy style that conveys movement and enthusiasm. This child’s eye view of mindfulness is a lovely and comforting read.
May 26, 2024
I love it when a picture book is as meaningful for adults as it is for kids. That's the case with Finding Grateful. It is very much a walking meditation on the importance of gratitude, revealed through a city walkabout after a family car breaks down. With Mama's encouragement, the story's young protagonist learns to notice, pay attention, and find gratitude, even when things don't go well, like when she falls and skins her knees and elbow. By the story's end, the child's wonderings build to what appears to be her greatest realization; that she is grateful for everything.
Lovely! And cheaper than therapy!
Lovely! And cheaper than therapy!
August 1, 2024
Recently, while glaring at the dishes in the sink - there are ALWAYS more dishes appearing in the sink - I decided to reframe the situation as "Aren't I lucky to have whatever food I want whenever I want it? Aren't I lucky to have a partner who helps cook it? Aren't I lucky to have running water? Aren't I lucky to have a dishwasher to deal with most of the dishes?"
A couple of weeks ago, after attending a mindfulness workshop with friends, I started thinking about how I could incorporate some of the principles to calm my students the f*ck down. This book will help. I may pair it with "Now" by Antoinette Portis.
A couple of weeks ago, after attending a mindfulness workshop with friends, I started thinking about how I could incorporate some of the principles to calm my students the f*ck down. This book will help. I may pair it with "Now" by Antoinette Portis.
January 15, 2024
What does it mean to be grateful? Where does the meaning of this word hide? Dianne White powerfully and gently explores the answers to these questions and this one powerful word. The young child in this story finds grateful everywhere. It is in a smile, a playful pup, and water that comes from sprinklers. Most of all, gratefulness is all around us, we only have to pause, look, and listen to find it. As a person who actively tries to find gratefulness in all things, I appreciate this book and Dianne's words. This is a must-have for the classroom and the home!
February 14, 2024
Dianne White’s Finding Grateful is a beautiful, lyrical story about life and the beauty that surrounds us. As the protagonist walks through the city with her mother, she notices details along the way and wonders about being grateful. Can grateful be a smile? Can grateful be a hug? This heart-warming story reminds us to pay attention, that beauty so often comes in small packages, that beauty is in the here and now. Finding Grateful is the perfect book to read before a walk with your own little one—or just before bed, so their dreams are filled with joy.
March 12, 2024
Beautiful, lyrical picture book about finding grateful in everyday life. After their car breaks down, a child and her mother take a walk and learn a lesson in being present and finding grateful in everything they notice and experience. They find grace in a neighbour's wave and smile, beauty in the honeysuckle scent in the air, and comfort in a hug after a fall. The soft brushstrokes in the illustrations highlight movement, sunshine and the child's joy at finding blessings in her every day. A lovely read that reminds us that we can find grace in all the world's small details.
August 20, 2024
A nice little book for younger kids about a way to see the world. Yes, sometimes things go wrong in life, and we still have a choice how we deal with it.
A daughter and mother had a car break down in the city. They walk calmly to get some help. They pay attention to where they are in the moment and still find things to appreciate and be grateful. The girl finds a dandelion in a crack in the sidewalk. She finds it beautiful and she picks it and it makes her happy.
It's a simple story sharing how to be grateful.
The artwork does a good job with the tone. It's breezy, easy.
A daughter and mother had a car break down in the city. They walk calmly to get some help. They pay attention to where they are in the moment and still find things to appreciate and be grateful. The girl finds a dandelion in a crack in the sidewalk. She finds it beautiful and she picks it and it makes her happy.
It's a simple story sharing how to be grateful.
The artwork does a good job with the tone. It's breezy, easy.
January 18, 2024
This book is just the loveliest introduction to gratitude practice for kids. Even for young children, it can be easy to get bogged down in everything that is going wrong. White's spare and lilting prose follow a little girl as she learns to be present and mindful on her journey home after the family car breaks down. I'm a huge fan of Pray's illustrations, but she's outdone herself with this one, turning regular city scenes into dream scapes with soft colors and flowing strokes.
September 2, 2024
4 stars (I really liked it)
I like the message of this book. The invitation to embrace mindfulness is wonderful. The illustrations are absolutely beautiful and the feel of the book is uplifting. The actual text didn't impress me that much but I still really liked the book overall. I'm just not totally sure I would want to purchase for my school library. I don't really see my students seeking this book out and it seems like it might be an awkward read aloud.
I like the message of this book. The invitation to embrace mindfulness is wonderful. The illustrations are absolutely beautiful and the feel of the book is uplifting. The actual text didn't impress me that much but I still really liked the book overall. I'm just not totally sure I would want to purchase for my school library. I don't really see my students seeking this book out and it seems like it might be an awkward read aloud.
November 13, 2023
Kids are often told to "be grateful" but what does that look or feel like? This is a beautifully softly illustrated journey in the world of a child that grounds an elusive concept in playful and relatable everyday moments. Perfect for mindfulness conversations since gratefulness is the foundation for happiness, a lovely way to help kids find lasting connection with their natural wonder and joy.
April 3, 2024
This darling story follows a little girl on her day with her mom as she tries to understand grateful. I love how this book celebrates the simple joys and beautiful details in our every day world. My favorite line is "Mama says: be where your feet are / that means pay attention." I think anyone, no matter where they are, can feel inspired to find grateful around them after reading this story.
July 3, 2024
The definition of grateful in a beautiful journey around a town by a young girl who notices big and small wonders along the way.
Illustrations by Faith Pray are endearing and heart-warming and perfectly join the simple text by Dianne White in a book that will most certainly be gifted by grandmothers to grandchildren around the world.
Illustrations by Faith Pray are endearing and heart-warming and perfectly join the simple text by Dianne White in a book that will most certainly be gifted by grandmothers to grandchildren around the world.
September 2, 2024
If the quote "there is always something to be thankful for" was a children's book. Even though the little girl and her Mother's day started with their car breaking down, they found plenty of things to be grateful for. With minimal punctuation and most pages containing sparse text, this book shows the abundance of things to be grateful for if you stay present in the moment.
April 17, 2024
What a lovely lyrical picture book by Dianne White and Faith Pray about finding gratitude in the ordinary things in everyday life! Faith's illustrations are warm and Dianne's writing is full of heart. I can't wait to share this book with the young readers in my life.
May 7, 2024
While this book isn't necessarily remarkable in illustrative style or content, it came at a time when my daughter and I really needed to read it and it opened up a great conversation about gratitude, living in the here and now, and finding beauty in the small things.
May 16, 2024
With deceptively simple language, this book packs a punch with its message about the power of being grateful. I wish my kids had had this book that is beautiful with its lyricism and gently drawn illustrations. It lingers with you and begs to be re-read.
March 16, 2025
The illustrations aren't dense, but they do add more to the story (the car breaking down, for example, isn't directly in the text). Lots of paying attention to the moment and place you are in messaging and finding the joy and gratitude in all of it.
April 10, 2024
This is a beautiful concept book that explores what gratitude is and what it means to be grateful.
May 6, 2024
Does grateful even exist and can you find it? Follow the little girl in the story as she seeks to find out what grateful is, as she's told by her mother "you don't need a map to find it"
May 15, 2024
I am grateful for this book.
Beautiful language.
Beautiful art.
Beautiful message.
I am grateful for the warm feelings that this book gave me.
Beautiful language.
Beautiful art.
Beautiful message.
I am grateful for the warm feelings that this book gave me.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews