A precious little candle is having a difficult time. Life can really get her down sometimes and she feels as if her flame has been put out by a dark stormy cloud following her around. And then another candle notices and decides to become a light in the darkness. This is an adorable and meaningful story about hope, resilience, helping and asking for help from others, and mental health. This is a very important book and explains things in an approachable and age-appropriate manner.

Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated in any other fashion for the review and the opinions reflected below are entirely my own. Special thanks to the publisher and author for providing the copy.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book has great eye catching pictures. The message is a good one, but I feel like the book is a little long.

Such cute illustrations and lovable story! I personally don’t like books that have super basic illustrations, I enjoy children’s books when the story and the illustrations show the amount of love that was put into it. This book excelled on both!

This is a lovely book primarily intended for children about never giving up hope no matter how dark things may seem. The main message of the story is characterised by a candle whose light is very dim and gradually becoming dimmer. The candle receives some help from another very bright candle who gives it more light, or in other words, hope.

The book gives a clear message about asking for help, finding the courage to keep on going and to never give up. It shows that it is possible to push away the dark clouds that are only visible to you and no one else. “A Flicker of Hope” shows the reader that hope is very important, no matter what your own personal dark clouds might be, such as anxiety, low self-esteem, depression or loss. Beautifully written and illustrated very nicely, this book enhances that message.

This is a great little book for both adults and children and one I would definitely recommend.

[Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for a free ARC of #AflickerOfHope in exchange for an honest review.]

This book centers around our individual light within, and how this can get diminished when our dark thoughts come about. It teaches us about having hope, and about the giving and taking of hope from one another. "Together WE can" is the motto I received from this book. The dialogue is really interesting, and relevant to persons of all ages. The colors and the art are superb visuals for younger children; they keep them interested and show the message through pictures. The helpful tips on the last page are ones I am going to read over regularly. Such easy ways to empower a community of "hope".

As someone with depression, a lot of this read a lot like therapy sessions, which I definitely appreciated. The whole book is about turning around your negative thoughts, the one candle saying the things that you should remind yourself of when you have the thoughts that the little dim candle is having.

My biggest qualm is that the book seems to be written for smaller children, under 10, but the gloomy dark cloud thoughts are all focused on later ages - "will I get into college" is a thing a 14-18 year old thinks, not a kid. This made it feel a little less relatable for the intended audience, despite its good overall message.

A good book with an important message about mental health and depression. It teaches children that all of us, no matter the age, experience some form of depression and the way to get out is to see the light and the little flicker of hope. I loved that the said flickers of hope came in the form of candles.

The illustrations were cute and helped convey and push the message.

A great book with a wonderful message and the illustrations are spot on with the story. I love how the flames represent the feelings of the candles. This is a wonderful book for children to help learn and overcome feeling down. I highly recommend this book to every parent and would be great in schools.

I am always on the search for books that will teach my kids important life lessons. This book, created by counselors who understand the issues kids go through these days, tackles worry, doubt, and dark times in a fun way that kids can understand. My only question is that I'm not sure what age range this book is targeting and who it would be best for. Picture books like these are usually for younger kids, but it covers issues for older kids, such as Instagram. My kids are too young now to even know what social media is, but I still want them to be exposed to stories like these, so I'm not sure what ages will respond best to this book. Overall it is a good read and even offers tips for parents from people who know what they are talking about.

Yes! Five stars for a very appropriate and encouraging book for young children (and adults, too!)

A Flicker of Hope centers around a purple candle who is down. The dark clouds are looming, and it is not easy. Children are reminded that we all feel sad sometimes, but those dark clouds will not stay forever.

Luckily for our little flickering purple candle, another bright candle comes over and offers some light!

Quite the powerful story to teach children that it is okay to ask for help, and also be the encouraging friend that others need at times.

A Flicker of Hope
By Julia Cook
This somber book talks about a little light who is more of a flicker. The little light feels hopeless and burdened. Another light comes along to share hope and encouragement by supporting the little light with words of wisdom and support. Who doesn’t need a little hope every now and then? Sometimes life gets overwhelming and the bad seems to out way the good. This book encourages you to seek help when those days come along. We are each different and unique. We have a purpose and sometimes having a friend come along and help us see ourselves from a different perspective is what we need. It is hard to see the gifts we have to give others at times, but we each have different gifts and talents to share. Sometimes focusing on these things can help us realize our importance as well. We all have something to offer.
I’m sad that this is a topic that kids are having to address. I think that this book has valid concerns and points though on seeking help.
I was provided this book by NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion which I’ve shared here.

This book feels a bit manufactured rather than created. The topic is important, emotional awareness and dealing with difficult emotions. Hope can be a hard thing for young children, who are still learning to develop higher reasoning skill. But, there is a disconnect in the text and the images. The images code for a younger child but the wordy text feels as if it is for an older child. This book is probably meant for a school setting where a teacher can simplify as they read aloud.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was written with obvious intent to be a read aloud book (teacher / adult reads to a group of kids) for kids aged 9 or 10 to mid-teen. It has great intention to help kids who feel like no one understands their sadness or whatever other emotion they're weighed under.

Unfortunately, there is so much <i>telling</i> and so little <i>showing</i> in this book, I don't know how it can actually reach the kids it's trying to reach. I can't imagine a too-cool-for-school group of kids from ages 10 to 14 who would actually humor a teacher trying to read this book. The language is geared for kids in lower elementary, but the problems and stresses (grades, job prospects, etc) are age appropriate for older students.

I was the perfect audience for this book when I was between 9 and mid-teen. I wanted approval from my teachers and I wanted to respect them, even if I thought something like this was cheesy. Therefore, I would quietly listen and try to learn from it what I could. However, while this book makes a good point of telling students to seek help from others, it does so in such a cheesy way that even goodie-two-shoes me wouldn't have grown in my understanding after listening to it.

The tips for parents and educators in the back of the book is gold. Perhaps that should be attached to a book more suited for younger kids so that parents and educators can help prevent flickering lights. I want kids who face struggle to have an outlet. I'm afraid this book isn't it.

A wonderfully presented book about self worth and the importance of mental wellness for all ages. This is an engaging and accessible way to discuss issues surrounding self esteem and mental wellness with children and I can easily see myself using this in many ways with children in my class.

This is a powerful book that reminds the reader that it's okay to not be happy and bright all the time, but it also encourages them to reach out to others for help. I would absolutely recommend this book to any of my patrons.

This is an encouraging book to share with children.

Little candle is going through a time of stress and depression. She has many worries and thoughts of inadequacies. Another candle sees that Little candle’s light is dim. This older candle steps up to encourage Little candle, telling her of her own uniqueness and the fact that she can ask for help. The older candle shares her light to brighten Little candle. Having been encouraged, Little candle turns and shares encouragement with another candle who is struggling with low flickering.

I enjoyed the encouraging message in this children’s book. The message is repeated but I think that is okay because it reinforces that everyone goes through times when they could use a little help or boost from others.

The illustrations are bright, colorful and engaging. I like the different shapes of the candles which is consistent with all of us being different. I think this is a lovely book for parents to share with children and then I can imagine a child going back to the story to look through the images on their own. Even if they can't read, they can remember the lesson they were taught. I recommend this to all parents but especially those who may have a sensitive child who needs to know that it is okay to reach out for encouragement from others.

Source: 2019 NetGalley.

Wow! This stunned me. I think the world definitely needed this picture book.

This tackles the issues of trying to have hope while you're struggling and knowing how important it is to tell someone you are struggling and to ask for help.

It also discusses depression and suicide, but without every using either of those terms, or anything even remotely like them. It takes what can be a very complicated topic to discuss with children and makes it so simple, in a way that still feels like it's absolutely true and could be very helpful.

I kind of think we should read this book to all children, probably over and over again, in the hopes that this message sticks with them, because it's a good one, especially when life slams you with challenging emotions and issues. Asking for help, and how that can make you stronger, is a concept that a lot of adults still struggle with, so to take away some of the stigma and societal views (that everyone should suck it up, stop whining, and power onward) on that topic and encourage kids from a very young age to take care of themselves and get help if they need it is so fantastic.

This book gets all my stars, and it even choked me up a bit.

Really enjoyed this children’s story. It is a perfect book to help explain depression to children and how to navigate when they are depressed (not too young children as I don’t think they would necessarily understand the metaphors).
These types of books are needed as part of children being able to learn about positive ways to cope, to maintain positive mental health and that its okay to be sad sometimes.
Thank you NetGalley and publisher, National Center for Youth Issues + Independent Book Publishers Association, for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This book is incredible, what a beautiful way to describe how to reach out for help. Normalizing mental health is so important, especially with children, they need to know that everyone feels sad sometimes and this is what to do if you need help. I like how it's very honest, that sometimes there are people who don't want to help and that OK because there are more who do! It's beautifully illustrated and I honestly don't think I've seen a book that does this better. My son is 10 and I want him to read it, we are definitely getting a copy for our young readers, I can't tell you how important this book truly is.

This book is one big metaphor for depression. It’s meant for kids to learn that they are not the only ones and that it is okay to ask for help. The metaphor might be a little strong for younger kids, but I think 4 year old and up would understand what is going on. This book would be an asset to classroom libraries, doctors offices, and individuals. As a plus the illustrations are fun and really help convey the message.