The Best Good Thing

Discovering Joy on a Very Bad, Smad Day

by Anna Housley Juster

The Best Good Thing models how caregivers might respond when a child feels upset after a bad day. Written by a child mental health clinician, the story begins with a young girl who feels "smad"--sad and mad. Certain there are no good things, she shares with her mother, who listens and encourages her to look for positives. Together, they notice small joys--a flower, a neighbor, fresh bread--until she discovers the best good thing of all: love.