This book literally choked me up as I was reading it to my kids. It has such a beautiful and important message- that it’s okay to feel sad sometimes, and that it’s ALWAYS okay to reach out and ask for help! I was so moved by this little story- although the age range it’s intended for may be a little too young to grasp the message- but with all the stress and pressures we face in today’s world, I would recommend this one to all ages, adults included! Another winner from Julia Cook!

A Flicker of Hope teaches the valuable lesson that it is ok to be sad sometimes but it is also ok to ask for help. Much like the candles in the story, receiving help from a friend can brighten your life and help you when you feel helpless. This book also provides a valuable lesson to friends, encouraging them to notice when someone needs help and how to reach out to them in kindness and sensitivity. While I found the storyline a bit repetitive and some of the themes seemed geared towards an older audience, I do think this book could open up dialogue between a parent and child, teacher/counselor and student, or even friend to friend.

A Flicker of Hope is a book appropriate for all school-aged children. When a young candle's flame begins to dim, the candle meets a tall, taper candle shining bright. Throughout the book the taper tries to talk to the small candle about being unique and its importance. This would be a great addition to a classroom library. It is perfect for counseling lessons as well as general classroom discussion. #AflickerOfHope #NetGalley

This is such an important and uplifting book, teaching children that all of us feel dark clouds above us sometimes, but that there are ways to lighten them up. The text gives children a script to follow in order to confront those dark clouds, and addresses how heavy clouds can feel sometimes and why we shouldn't let that stop us.

I really love the underlying message that we all matter, and think this is something so valuable to instill in children.

The illustrations are beautiful, and a perfect accompaniment to the text. They add to the reading experience.

"I choose to believe the world is better with my light in it".

This book provides a compelling visual in order to kick start the conversation about mental health for children of a variety of ages. I loved the candle metaphor, portrayed in colorful illustrations, which is not only relatable to all but can be referenced for weeks or months to come to continue the conversation.

One small, flickering candle is trapped beneath clouds of her own making, with nowhere to turn for help - or so she thinks. An older candle, having been through similar situations, takes the sad candle on a journey to retrieving what might be the most important thing: HOPE.

A Flicker of Hope is a children's book, although I think the writing is for an older audience. It might be a good teaching book, but it didn't really work reading it one-on-one with my son. I always ask him what he thinks about a book when we finish, and what he enjoyed most about the story. The only thing he could really say about A Flicker of Hope was that he liked the candles, and wanted to know why his birthday candles didn't die when their flames went out.

In the book, one of the candles is feeling sad and having negative thoughts, so her candle is dimmed and dull. Another candle comes along to give her hope, which effectively brightens her light. However, the other candle starts talking about everyone having gifts, and how candles without a light are no longer able to share theirs. It was a good lesson in personification, but the deeper messages were lost on him.

I think A Flicker of Hope addresses important issues about depression and touches on mental illness, encouraging people to ask for help when they feel down, but it doesn't mention someone needing more than a friend. Yes, you should continue to ask for help, but sometimes that's not enough. Maybe the book could have encouraged readers to seek medical help? Also, essentially telling a person not to kill themselves, or let themselves die because they have "gifts to share", might not be the best approach. A person having negative thoughts and feelings is likely unconcerned with what they have to offer the world.

I believe the wording was too wordy at times, and the story wasn't presented in a way that younger children would easily comprehend. I think a few of the pages could have been removed (like when the second candle essentially repeated everything the first candle said at the beginning), and the story could have been simplified for its target audience.

Originally posted at Do You Dog-ear? on January 4, 2019.

This is a book that I think everyone should read. Everyone at some point in their lives get overwhelmed and down, and this book ensures that everyone has a place in the world and everybody has a life worth living. This book used candles to show that people do not always shine at their brightest when they have clouds over their heads. I really likes that the illustrations added emotions and feelings to the words, and it makes it so this book can be read at any age. I think this book can be used by parents and educators alike to help explain to students that they are worthy and loved.
I really enjoyed how the book was almost from two different perspectives: the first candle that had a flicker of light, and the candle that gave the first candle their light back. The first candle explained the "clouds" that were making the light dark in ways such as not felling good enough. It then switched to the perspective of the candle that helped, and it had similar struggles to the first one and that is why they knew how to help. It then ended with the first candle being able to take their struggles and turn it into being able to help another candle whose flame was flickering.
There was also an analogy about death being compared to candles burning out too soon. I think this was done in a way that even children would understand. This book hit many emotions, and it was done in a way that was easy to understand.
This is definitely a book that I will use in my classes, whether I teacher young children or young adults. This book can help show that as the teacher, you do care about your students and want to see them all grow up and feel worthy of living.

Lovely book with deeper meanings. The first thing that lured me was the illustrations. Bright colors and images that match the content of each single page. As far as the content itself, I think that the book aptly poses serious problems that arise at a young age, approaching them with an insightful manner. But what really made me stand it out is the fact that instead of staying in the description of the problem, it goes one step further by giving tangible solutions. It does not stop in a stiff advice like "When you don't feel well, ask for help". The book, although intended for children, could easily be read by adults who experience problems such as depression.
In conclusion, from an educational point of view I consider it an excellent aid.

How can you ever rate a book badly whose whole premise is to illustrate how to never lose hope? At times, it may seem repetitive but this is book for children. We have to judge it based on the intended audience. I like books like these and will continue to recommend them especially for children everywhere.

I am a Julia Cook addict and will buy anything she writes. Having said that, this book is wonderful for children of all ages. I often find that the adolescents I work with appreciate picture books and stories as a deviation from the typical therapy process. I love how this includes situations and thoughts they frequently experience. Filled with beautiful illustrations and relatable discussion topics, Cook does it again!

This beautiful book about hope reminds us to help ignite the light in others and look to others for help when we feel our own spark diminishing. I can't wait to share this book with my students and inspire them to be hope lighters for each other.

This children's book has an important message for kids who sometimes have a tough time dealing with negative and sad thoughts, and it focuses on teaching children that it is ok to ask for as well as offer help.

The style is didactic and somewhat detached. I think it's probably a good book for teaching about depression and emotional struggles, but it feels more like a classroom teaching aid than something that parents would buy to read to their children.

This is a lovely book about looking for and finding hope even in the darkest of times. While it does get repetitive after a while, it is geared towards children. It should be learned that if you're ever feeling down or lost, there are people out there to support you and help you out of those times. I especially liked that the characters were candles to make a point that when you're in dark times, someone will be there to light the way. Well done book and informative at the same time.

National Center for Youth Issues and NetGalley provided me an electronic copy of A Flicker of Hope. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

A Flicker of Hope is both written and illustrated beautifully, in a way that children will understand. The story is about a young purple candle who has dark clouds hovering over her head, making her lose hope. In her moment of despair, she is given advice by someone who understands how she feels.

This book is packed full of good advice, especially showing how there is nothing wrong with asking for help. Too often lately, children and adults alike are turning to permanent solutions to eradicate their pain. A Flicker of Hope gives a different pathway for people to follow and would be invaluable in helping to stem the tide of suicides in this country. My favorite lines in the book are "It's always okay to admit to yourself, "I just can't do it today." Everyone needs somebody sometimes, to help them find their way," as well as "...so I ask. And I keep asking. And I keep reaching out to others until I find someone who can share their flame with me and give me strength and a little boost of hope" (p. 16, p. 26). Parents, in reading this book with their children, can open a frank discussion about feelings of self worth. I definitely recommend A Flicker of Hope to parents, to educators, and to support staff in schools around the country.

Wow!
What a wonderful book to share with children to help them understand and work through their feelings as well as showing them that they are important. The story addresses issues that many children face everyday in a very sensitive way. It also shows how your actions can influence others and encourages understanding, acceptance and friendship.
I will not hesitate to share this book with my own children as well as those that I teach.

Beautiful illustrations and a good message (ways to build hope when children are struggling and feeling down at home or at school). Would be useful to have more practical suggestions for adults reading this book with children (although there are some at the end) - maybe a link to a website? Overall a nice read and unfortunately very necessary these days, if a little theoretical.

I'm not a fan of books like this. I guess I keep trying them because I have hope... but they disappoint me nearly every time.

The main problem is that the message doesn't match the audience. It's a book all about having hope--and not killing yourself when times get tough. The problem is, it concentrates on a lot of non-problems like getting a bad grade or kids saying mean things about your interests. The child who really needs a book like this is going to have much bigger things on their mind. If you're suicidal because you're being viciously bullied because of your sexuality or gender identity, or because you (or someone you care about) has a severe physical or mental illness, a silly little book featuring pictures of phallic candles and sappy platitudes is not going to make you feel better.

The whole book is one big metaphor about your "light", and that's represented by anthropomorphized candles. After a while, the metaphor starts to feel way too obvious, and it starts to get annoying. The parts that lapsed into rhyming text didn't help. The text is also a little confusing in spots. It talks about how, "when a flame goes out before its time, hearts that are left behind are broken forever." So... that's talking about suicide, right? But, just a few pages back, it says "if your flame goes out, you might not be able to relight it." Might not? So there's still a chance? Well, no. It's kind of hard to relight your flame if you're dead. (If you're going to use a metaphor like this, it needs to be consistent and not confusing.)

The text also drums into the reader that if you need help, you should ask for it. And if someone won't help you, ask someone else... and if they won't help, ask someone else. This could be dangerous, especially if the child isn't listened to and isn't believed, as it would just reinforce the fact that they're doing someone wrong and aren't worthy of being helped. I would've rather seen advice on choosing which people to ask for help to get the best results. (Related to this is advice for parents at the back of the book that tells them not to "fix" their kids' problems. Again, this could end up being dangerous, especially if the child is being severely bullied, or if they're in need of the parent's help for doing something like finding a health professional. It's not realistic to expect kids to fix their problems 100% by themselves.)

I doubt anyone ever killed themselves solely over getting a C on a test. Because this book pretty much ignores the things that really would cause kids to be suicidal and snuff out their flame, I can't recommend it.

This is a lovely book about hope, I really hope that it is used by those that need it.
The story was easy to follow and it is a really good concept to let children know that they are not alone, help is available and there are probably a lot of people feeling the same as you.
Four stars

This picture book for children is a very important one regarding the topic. Talking about mental health problems, even (or especially) with kids is a cardinal thing, and they must know they're not alone.

The illustrations are adorable, and the whole idea is beautiful. I like the wording, too, though it does gets very repetitive by the end. That's why I think it's more suitable for very young children, at around the age of 3-4, when they actually like repeating (and making us repeat) things.

To me, this one was a very quick read, I loved the little candles, and by the end I felt like my heart warmed a bit, and I learnt to think of something in my soul as a little fire that needs help to shine from time to time.

This is a beautiful book. :)

A short candle—with eyes and mouth and arms and legs—is depressed, with a literal dark cloud hanging over it, full of the kinds of problems facing kids and teens today. Some are more important than others, but all hurtful. It takes the light of another candle, and even then a few tries, to get the stubby one to see the light.
Of all the usually non-sentient objects being given life in a children’s book, I’d have to say candles are the strangest.
The point here is to not be ashamed to ask for help, because others have been through the same.
Ends with a couple of pages about the power of hope, meant for adults so they can pass it on to their kids.
3.5 pushed up to 4/5