A little moth is enchanted by the stars, but is also afraid of the dark. Friends lend encouragement, and in turn, the moth finds that being brave is easier than he thought. The author's illustrations, set against a dark background, are very unusual and intriguing.

What a lovely little picture book!

It's not a glossy, clean book. It isn't meant to be. There are still a few untidy pencil scratches, and most of the backgrounds have brown tones instead of bright paper-white.

It feels like being outside.

Dirt. Grass. Summer nights. Freedom--and a little danger.

If you've got an audience that isn't quite the right age yet for Avi's The End of the Beginning (an incredibly charming story about a little adventuresome snail) or Ursula Vernon's enchanting and bizarre Nurk, then the lovely, warm lights of Shine and its summer fireflies might be just the thing.

This may be an issue of picture books on e-readers in general, but it's a little difficult to read on a Kindle. Valasse's sweeping, two-page illustrations don't get quite the same effect. Otherwise, no complaints!

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC and for introducing me to this charming little book!

If every children’s book has a message, you won’t find one more on the nose than in Shine by Bruno Valasse. Or maybe I should say “on the wing”? In this sweet short story, a moth wants to explore the dark but is afraid of what it might encounter. It takes courage and self-belief for the moth to shine in a dark world.

Spelling-binding illustrations captivate readers’ attention, bringing them into this whimsical nighttime world of insects. Shine is great validation for kids who are growing healthy fears about the world around them, and for just about anyone who remembers the days of fighting monsters at bedtime.

Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada, Tundra Books, and NetGalley for providing this advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I love this book as an introduction to camouflage for little ones. The illustrations were adorable. I liked the idea of the main character being a night insect afraid of the dark. Unique perspective that I hadn't seen yet. My students are going to love this book.

Shine is an adorable book about a moth who is afraid of the dark. The little moth loves the stars. Out in the darkness there are other creatures to make friends with. The moth realizes there is more waiting in the dark than just friends and is scared. But, opening wings wide the moth can shine! (I love this!)
I received an e-copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. This is my own unsolicited opinion.
What an excellent book to read with a child and have discussions about the beauty of darkness, how one can shine in a scary or dark place, etc. Friends can help one another is another lesson.
My e-copy didn't enable me to really see the art of the book, but what I can see I can imagine that holding a print copy would be very special. The artwork shows stars, creatures' eyes and small things in the dark until, wow, the shine shows. I want to get a copy for my grandchildren.

"Shine" was a beautiful and inspiring picture book! I love the idea of a little moth embracing its authentic self and finding courage in the night. It's so important to be true to ourselves and let our light shine, even in the darkness. I'm sure readers will be captivated by the lyrical storytelling and the stunning illustrations. 🌟🦋📖

Shine is a cute story about a moth and its adventures outside. I love the sense of friendship between insects. The illustrations were cute and a darker color scheme, which I thought represented nighttime well.

I received an ARC from Penguin Random House Canada | Tundra Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A beautiful moth is afraid of the dark, but the beautiful moth ALSO loves stars [and the friends he has when it is dark], so the beautiful moth faces it's fears and goes and plays with it's friends in the dark and learns how to both face it's fears AND help it's lovely, sparkling friends.

The author/illustrator of this book does an excellent job at communicating those early fears many of us have [of the dark, of those things we cannot see etc] and creating a story that shows children how to both NOT be afraid and how to work with others to help everyone around them. It is brilliantly done and I loved this so much. It was so gorgeously illustrated and those illustrations truly add to the overall feel of the story.

Just spectacular! I highly recommend this book!

Thank you to NetGalley, Bruno Valasse, and Penguin Random House Canada/Tundra Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

A picture book with clever illustrations and a striking palette, it follows a moth who is afraid of the dark but entranced by the stars. He ventures into the night and makes friends, but they all fall victim to frogs waiting in the dark. The team of insects moves on to find a lighthouse and enjoy the night. The end is punctuated with the moth being, “a light in the darkness,” and he and his friends are safe in their nighttime trek.

I like this book; the artwork is alluring, but I can’t help but feel that once you get into the story, it is too short and it feels like it leaves out a few details. Still, It is a dually thematic, encouraging readers to both overcome their fears and to be themselves. The artwork is super fun and the kids will enjoy it for storytime, the text heartening the readers to “shine” in the darkness.

Shine is a very sweet, but very short, children's picture book about a moth who is afraid of the dark, but finds his courage to help others.

My only critique is that I wish there were a few more pages of illustration and rhyme. It felt incredibly short, and I would have loved to see more pages of our little moth helping his nighttime friends, flying among the stars, or hiding in plain sight. The art is lovely, and the rhymes are sweet and simple. Overall, very well done.

I received an electronic ARC from Penguin Random House Canada through NetGalley.
Sweet story of a moth who finds their courage to venture out in the dark. Readers meet this small moth as they share their story of being happy inside in the light. But, they also like the moon and the stars so they find friends who are scared too and venture out together. All is well until they remember predators are always there. Moth finds his boldness, spreads his wings and flies/shines to save his friends. The artwork is detailed and readers will love looking for the various animals included. The story allows readers to see how shy and nervous the main character is until they tap inner strength to save others.

This is a beautiful book with stunning artwork, and a sweet little message. I love how the moth overcomes his fears to find a way to shine and protect his friends. Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book.

Such a lively and colorful boo, beautifully illustrated and with a comforting story for children and adults alike about overcoming our fears, to light a path through the darkness and make peace with those scary unknown things that may be holding us back. Such a charming book and so gorgeous to look at. I highly recommend it.

Very simple and cute story with unique artwork. Very beautiful book! A must for for those who love unique creatures that are often overlooked.

I really liked this book and so did my kids! The illustrations were amazing and the story line was very beautiful. The only complaint that me and my kids both had was that we wanted the book to be longer!

I thought this was so adorable! The color palette was darker than I’m used to but perfect for the story being told!
A moth has a secret and will do what they need to in order to protect their friends!

My thanks for the ARC goes to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada, Tundra Books. I'm voluntarily leaving a review.

This picture book has layers in just a few words. It also has a sense of wonder. It's amazing what authors can do with such spare verse and give you a warm, loving feeling. At one point, I was saying, "Oh no! That can't happen." Which just proves I was vested in this tiny, shiny story.

Here are some of my musings after reading:

What does it mean to shine?
How do you shine?
What happens to fears when you shine?
How does the world change when you shine?

The illustrations are also engaging, and I loved the loose style.

I think this book has great re-readability. And I highly recommend it!

Happy (shining) reading!

This book is a 3 star for me

I wanted to love this more as the illustrations are stellar but the content and flow of the story are problematic to a degree- specifically the scenes of the death of the other critters from the frogs and no real discussion of that traumatic event

Unfortunately that’s not really appropriate for children or anyone as that’s not really the best way to handle an event filled with trauma and death. The overall message of being brave is really left to be surface level explanation and isn’t explored as much as it could be or should be

This book has so much potential to be more and be better and truly unique and touch in on both being brave and being scared and dealing with trauma. Heck, it could even be a trilogy: being brave, being scared, and dealing with death- respectfully

Wow. This book is simply lovely. It’s about a kid who is afraid but finds a way to conquer their fears and shine. The story is fantastic, but the artwork knocks this book into the next level. The artwork is very different than seen nowadays. At the same time, it has a classic feeling of old-time picture books: like the Little Funny Woman or Story A Story, or even a Fool in the Flying Ship. This artwork stands out and will be a sure contender for the next round of Caldecott.

"Shine" is a beautifully illustrated book with a confusing and somewhat disturbing story that never-the-less has a happy ending. A small moth is afraid of the dark, but loves watching the stars. He decides to go out into the dark and hide as he gets a better look at the beautiful stars in the dark sky. He makes some bug friends along the way, some of which he loses to some frogs (this double page spread of death struck me as horrific and traumatic, but it is immediately passed over). The moth stops hiding and shines as his brilliant self which scared off the frogs, leading to the happy ending with the moth and remaining bugs living in the light of a lighthouse. This book will be loved by plenty who are not disturbed by the middle, and will be shared as a story of how you shine when you embrace your authentic self, but there are much better stories that more effectively share the same message. Recommended only for the art, and not for readers who have recently experienced the loss of someone they love.