The short and incredibly happy life of Riley, By Danika

A book report about 'The short and incredibly happy life of Riley' by Colin Thompson and Amy Lissiat.

This book is not only about learning the differences between 'needs' and 'wants', but the attitude you have towards life. 

Three themes in the story are Happiness, because you need to be happy with what you already have. The second theme is acceptance, you need to be able to accept the things you cannot change.

The third theme is greed, because in the story, people are portrayed as greedy and wanting more than they need. 

The setting of the story is a mix between the lives of Riley the mouse and a humans. The mouse is happy with the simple things in life where as the human expects more. The story is written in third person. 

The problem in the story is that people are greedy and never settle with the things they already have. The action and response to this would be that when people read this book, they realise that less is more and they could be happy with what they've got.

The two main characters are Riley, who is happy with the smipler things in life and a human who wants more. Riley is happy because he has everything he needs and doesn't need anything more. The human however, is very greedy, always needing more and that makes him unhappy.

Three questions I would ask the main characters are: 

1) To Riley- Do you really never worry about the things you want? 

2) To Humans- Do we ever settle down at some point in our lives, just not really worry about things as much?

3) To Riley- What if humans were okay with just what they need, nothing more, would it have an effect on your life if they were happier? 

I think I could relate to the humans in the book. I don't think I am really grateful for the things I have and always want more. I think this book has made me sort of think about what i have and what I need. 

A connection I can make with this story is to the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, because the people living in district 12 are able to survive with the few things they have (like Riley). Where as the Capitol (like the humans) always want more than they need and take advantage of the districts. 

Overall I really quite enjoyed the book because it's not really your average picture book and you have to think about it more than you expect to. I think the book is suitable for people 9 and older because it's quite a lot to think.