"In a school full of stars, is there room for one more?"
What do you do when you've got a children's book idea and your husband just happens to be New York Times best-selling author Chris Grabenstein? Well, if you're J.J. Grabenstein, you team up with said husband, author of the ever-popular Mr. Lemoncellos' Library series among many others, and collaborate on "SHINE!" — emphasis on the exclamation point. According to a SHINE! video extra on Chris Grabenstein's website J.J. wished that when she was a child she had read a book that focused on "who you are being more important than what you accomplished." She may not have found that book, but now children throughout the world will in "SHINE!"
Recommended for kids ages 8-12, (but I believe it is a great read-aloud for younger elementary kids, too) "SHINE!" follows 12-year-old Piper Milly as she navigates the competitive atmosphere of her new private school Chumley Prep. Piper feels a little out of place, as she was only admitted into this prestigious school because it was part of the package when her father got a new job as the Chumley Prep choral director. The Chumley Prep students come from wealthy families and they seem to stand out and shine at everything, while Piper prefers to simply blend in. Shortly after her arrival at the school, it is announced that Chumley Prep will be awarding one student with the first-ever Excelsior Award. The students are given very few guidelines by their Headmaster Dr. Throckmorton except to "simply excel" because anonymous judges, that even he does not know the identity of, would be watching. While fellow students like Ainsley Braden-Hammerschmidt race to be the best (at sports, at music, at being voted class President), Piper and her new friends, the self-proclaimed Hibblefits, search for ways to excel. As they struggle to find something they can "win" at, obstacles keep popping up along the way preventing them from competing with the likes of Ainsley and her friends. But Piper and the Hibblefilts will soon realize that maybe they don't have to win at anything because excelling at something else is even better.
"Inspirational, commonsensical, and a whole lot of fun." —James Patterson
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What makes you SHINE!?
I recently had the privilege of introducing this book to several children, first at our SHINE! Storytime and Book Reading event at The Bookloft in Great Barrington, MA, and then again at my sister's, when I shared the book with my 10-year-old niece and 7-year-old nephew. At our event, children and their families were introduced to one of our community's own Shining Stars, Madison Quinn, who began the charity Strong Little Souls that delivers care-packages to children living with cancer throughout the Berkshires, the United States and around the world. She was only 13-years-old (she is now a college student). After hearing about Madison's work children and their parents were invited to create cards to place in care packages and Shining Star wands and ornaments with the messages "Shine Bright" and "Shine On" on them. They also were asked to write about what makes them shine on the back of these items.
We then listened to J.J. Grabenstein read the first chapter of the book (another SHINE! video extra) and then I read a couple more. The kids were captivated, and when I finished they all wanted to know what happened next. I told them they'd just have to read the book themselves to find out and they all shared that they wanted to read it. Again we shared stories of what makes us shine, and this activity came easier for some kids than others. I'm hoping when they finish reading SHINE! that answer will come easier for everyone. We ended the event by sending the kiddos off with SHINE!-themed goodie bags complete with SHINE! sunglasses, Galaxy Playdough, and I SHINE! buttons and stickers to hand out to friends and family when they shined. I even gave a couple of grownups "I SHINE!" stickers to deliver when they saw someone they saw someone shining. Madison handed off with the cards, some Shining Star crafts and some toys for her care packages. Boy, that felt good.
What I've found since reading this book is that SHINE! brings out the best in people. Its message is contagious and after reading it, even parts of it, it seems to encourage readers to do good (at least it did our family). After our SHINE! event, my husband's real estate company sent a donation to Strong Little Souls and is working on a plan to do more fundraising for the local charity. The day after sharing this book with my niece and nephew (you can see Luke reading the beginning lines below), we passed an elderly neighbor of theirs struggling to clear leaves in her front yard and I felt compelled to help. My niece Kylee did, too. So we stopped at the house, grabbed a rake and headed back. A few minutes later, my sister and nephew rounded the corner with two more rakes followed by my brother-in-law with his leaf blower. Wow. We all passed out "I SHINE!" stickers to each other, but we didn't need a reward. As Kylee said, "That felt good." On a side note, Kylee also gave her good friend a sticker later that day, because she thought she deserved it for her bravery as she prepared to go to a new school the following day.
I encourage everyone with kids in elementary and middle school to read shine SHINE! The message is timeless, inspiring and so needed these days, and it's also a really fun read I also highly recommend that families and/or classrooms read it together because the discussions and actions that result from reading this book will be well worth it. I promise.
To grab your copy of SHINE! by J.J. and Chris Grabenstein visit rhcbooks.com. For more SHINE! Extras visit HERE.
To Follow Chris Grabenstein on social media Click the LInks ➡️FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, TWITTER.
* I was compensated for this review, although all opinions expressed here are my own.
