As Leo flies his kite, his friend Zoe muses about happiness. Soon, the two little mice are taking turns telling what happiness is. Zoe says it's "feeling a snowflake melt on your tongue," while for Leo, it's "discovering a little piece of cheese deep in your trouser pocket." Their lists may be different, but they both love flying a kite together at the end of this brief, genial story. Best known for The Rainbow Fish (1992), Pfister speaks to a somewhat younger audience here, as the mice reflect on their favorite pleasures in the short, pithy text. Vibrant colors glow against the white pages in the nicely textured illustrations, apparently created by applying acrylic paints to cardboard shapes and printing them on paper. After hearing what makes Zoe and Leo happy, children will enjoy adding their own imaginative ideas to the list.

In a plot-light, sentimental book, two mice ponder what happiness is. Their definitions, ranging from "happiness is discovering a little piece of cheese deep in your trouser pocket" to "gazing at a poppy up close," provide wonderful images for Pfister's bright, textured print-style illustrations. Ultimately Leo concludes that "happiness is flying a kite with a friend!"; Zoe replies: "Exactly."