Gorgeous children’s book with heartwarming message that can be appreciated at any age. I look forward to seeing this on bookshelves.

Hmm, this was definitely different. Not a children’s book I really enjoyed. I understand the message with the light I just think it could’ve been more connected and better explained to the “light” they are referring to specifically to the reader. Drawings were nothing amazing to me they seemed rather mundane.

This is a sweet poetic children's book for young readers based on animals that basically talks about the light within us all. All the illustrations are in color and the book has 1 sentence per page. It is 24 pages in total and a quick read. This book was released in July of 2022.

As a parent, I would think of this as an early socialization and identity book. All of the animals feature smiling, happy faces and they interact together. At first, the reader may think this is about the sun or a tree receiving sunlight, but it is deeper than that. I can see reading this with pre-readers and discussing how the animals are happy alone and with each other. All co-existing in harmony, doing their own things.

As a person of Swedish heritage, I liked that the book was dedicated to Saint Lucia. 4.5 stars rounded up.

Thank you, Balboa Press, a division of Hay House, and NetGalley, for providing an ebook for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

#balboapress #netgalley @netgalley

"My Name Is Light" - A Radiant Exploration of Self-Identity and Esteem

Kelly Anne Manuel’s "My Name Is Light" shines brightly in the realm of children’s literature, offering young readers a profound exploration of self-identity and esteem. Crafted with her signature reversed phrases and poetic style, Manuel's writing encourages readers to perceive their world differently. The engaging language, paired beautifully with evocative illustrations, stimulates curiosity and fosters introspection.

"My Name Is Light" stands out for its sensitive handling of the theme of self-identity. By presenting the topic in an accessible and relatable manner, Manuel ensures that children can understand the concept, prompting vital conversations about identity, self-esteem, and the value of individuality.

I read this with my nephew, we really enjoyed it. we would love to read more of it and hes already asking for a reread together,

My Name is Light is such a sweet and captivating poem for children. We've read it several times and the flow works so well to calm and relax at bedtime. It's a great addition to our little family library!

Kelly Anne Manuel did it again! I love how colorful and vivid the illustrations are on each page, and how it matches as well as challenges so many thoughts before going into the next one. I think this book encourages the child to understand that it is okay to be who you are, and then get to know anybody and find out through interaction with other people. A nice read for all ages if I may say.

Not sure what I originally though this book was going to be although I am sure it most definitely was going to be about actual light and a children's informational take on all things light-related to a certain degree.

And the book does start out that way but then it veers off into the outfields in a direction that I would have never seen. First of all the whole book is an actual almost-monologue of two characters with the child or narrator being the one that doesn't have quotations around the words while to all intents the conversation with the quotations seemed to supposedly be the light. Then again I could be guessing wrong.

The embodiment of Light states to the reader that is name should be plain to see, which doesn't make sense to me since if this is a book explaining light to someone who doesn't know it then how is that plain to see? Furthermore just because it is bright doesn't mean that the name fits either since some can be dim.

And then the beautiful and inspiring artwork takes a dump with the rest of the book once you come upon the child(? - I thought it was meant to be a character mimicking the author) who is't exactly sitting on the ground as the text states. This finally opens the world to madness as various animals come out to make their debut with no idea how they relate to light besides the fact that it may be since of the "psyche" or one's "inner light", which I am guessing is meant to drive the need to play with one another *shrugs*.

The art element with the animals made me want to throw away this book since the change from light to play didn't really make sense to me. Furthermore the animals are those repetitive stencil cartoonish ones you see thrown into most mass published editions - badly colored, anatomically wrong and in this case very mismatched in whether shown with textured hair or not. And just for a bonus one of the included simians is missing a nose.

After dipping my toe into this series I think I will pass on the other ones while I don't seriously know of anyone that would want a recommendation for this book.

**I received a free copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.**