Member Reviews

Shine is a beautiful book about being brave and finding your self-worth. I thought the illustrations were especially gorgeous and eye-catching. Thank you NetGalley and Publishers for giving me early access to this book!

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Shine is a story of overcoming your fears with the help of friends, something we can all identify with. For fans of Phoebe Wahl, this book will make your heart lighter and Reims you that shining your light for all to see is powerful.

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An adorable and succinct look at the importance of self-confidence and positive self-evaluation in the life of a young person. Also, incredibly cute illustrations!

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This is a beautifully illustrated book that does a wonderful job of showing just how strong and capable we are of facing our fears when we allow ourselves to truly shine. The limited color pallete and whimsical, textured artwork really evoke the almost magical quality of night - how something so deep and still can also be brimming with life and light. The message is sweet, simple, and stays with you after the last page is read.

Thank you to the author and to NetGalley for the eARC of this very enjoyable book!

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I am obsessed with the illustrations of this book, but they weren't enough to carry it. I read it twice because I thought I missed something, but it truly was just insufficiently told. There was too much extrapolation asked of the reader. I wanted so badly to love it, but unfortunately, I cannot recommend.

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Thank you NetGalley and Publishers for giving me early access to this book! It is such a beautiful and short story. My kiddos fell in love with the pictures they saw, and they all had to come and get a closer look of it. They all gave it a thumbs up! Thank you!

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The illustrations in this book are lovely, the message is really sweet as well, though I question a bit the likelihood of the “hero moment” without also becoming frog food.

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What a beautiful story...the artwork and the story are perfect! I have loved reading since I was a child, and I love reading to my own children, and to kids in my classroom. I am always looking for stories that promote empathy and teaching children to be true to themselves, learning about the importance of the community they are in, and overcoming fears. The artwork was just breathtaking. I can't wait to add a copy of this to my classroom library!

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What a creative, beautiful book! This Nana really enjoyed sharing it with my grandkids. We talked about fears, courage and being yourself. Thanks #NetGalley

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Shine was a nice picture book about a moth who, while loving the night sky, is still very much afraid of the dark itself. The story was very short and to the point. I couldn't help but wish it was a bit longer as it just felt like the story didn't have enough time to build up to the conclusion.

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This book has a great message. And I loved the art! The illustrations reminded me of my childhood (in the 70s/80s) with the colors. Does anyone else remember the children's book color scheme from the 70s where it was teal orange and mustard? But like I said the message of the book was great too -that courage is doing things even if you are scared and that your courage can affect others too.
Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for this ARC for review purposes

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The illustrations in this book were beautiful. The story felt very lacking in content or context. There wasn't much substance, it felt like the entire book was just to get to the last line rather than to tell a story.

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This is a very short picturebook with a very simple story. The illustrations are gorgeous, full page spreads in a beautiful limited color palette of red, green, black and tan. A little moth boy is afraid of the dark but loves looking at the stars. He makes friends with other bugs and they go out to play at night, but then a group of frogs eats a bunch of the bugs. The moth boy somehow shines to scare the frogs away and he and all his bug friends leave the forest to go live by the ocean and play in the light of the light house. As an adult, the story does not make much sense to me, but when I think of the children I read to at storytime, I think that wouldn't matter to them as much. The illustrations really carry the book and it's beautiful enough to enjoy reading, even if the story lacked cohesion.

#NetGalley #Shine

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This is very short, even for a picture book. There isn't a real storyline here -- a boy is afraid of the dark and then learns to still go outside at night anyway. While I think the theme is nice, I just can't help but think of other books that do more and better.

The best part of the book is the artwork. The colors are beautiful and the style is playful enough for little kids while still being genuinely good. Overall, I wouldn't completely pass on this book but it definitely doesn't stand out from the pack.

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Thanks NetGalley, Penguin Random House Canada, and Tundra Books for this cute arc!

5/5 stars!

This was a cute book, about a little moth that hates the dark but loves the stars. The artwork was lovely, and the story engaging!

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What happens when a moth is afraid of the dark? <i>Shine</i> is about a moth who does not like the darkness. In this story for young readers we get a vivid approach to being anxious of the dark and how to be their true selves.

First I want to point out how much I absolutely loved the art style in this book. It made me want to read more, and I did! Two more times! The art style suited the story wonderfully. I also liked how on point it is to portray being afraid of the dark but getting help from others making it less scary. Hopefully, young readers will enjoy this a lot and take comfort that they are not alone in being scared of the dark.

Happy reading!♥️

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