This heartwarming story begins with a young boy begrudgingly attending a birthday party at his best friend Teddy’s house. Happy the Clown makes balloon animals for the guests – all except the mopey boy who says, “That’s okay, Dad, I’ll pass.”

The son of Happy, who wishes his dad had a “regular job,” decides he doesn’t like clowns. Then Dad confesses business is slow. He puts a sign on the front lawn to advertise, but it doesn’t help. “There’s just not enough work for a clown anymore. I’m going to have to go back to my old job,” he says. This is how the boy finds out Dad used to be a lawyer.

Herein lies a delightful inversion: a lawyer who chooses to work as a clown, only returning to law when times are tough. Now Dad wears a business suit and they buy a new car, but something “feels weird” and the boy worries. Then Teddy phones with news. He’s in the hospital recovering from a tonsillectomy. The boy has an idea. He dons his too-small clown costume and invites Happy to come along. The father and son are nervous, but all the kids are super-excited to see clowns.

Milan Pavlović’s mixed-media illustrations have a childlike feel with scribbly lines and crayon shading. They boast bright colours, rich textures, and expressive faces. Cary Fagan’s text is ideal for early readers – simple with lots of short sentences and a pleasing rhythm. The story smartly acknowledges that some children are afraid of clowns, which Dad says breaks his heart. The characters exhibit a wide range of emotions – sadness, shame, grief, worry, pride, and contentment – and the contemplative boy considers how he feels at different times. Classic clown objects like squirting flowers, big buttons, a bald cap, and “fat white gloves” bring humour and lightness to the tale.

Adults will chuckle at Dad in his easy chair reading the Clown Times and later Lawyer’s Weekly. The clever last-page reveal shows that, even at the office, Dad takes a little part of Happy with him.