Bright Shining Moment

Aline is a twelve year old girl. She has a problem. How can someone love her family so much, and yet still be embarrassed about them. She knows her family is poor. They don't have any of the nice things other girls her age have. She doesn't even have any old chewed up gum that her teacher uses to stick pictures on the wall. That is just too embarrassing. Not only that she has a bully girl in her class that is always out to get her.
Than at Christmas she begins to see, that it isn't how much money a person has that makes them rich. That it's the love of family and friends, old and new. It's
about being grateful for enough food to eat, a warm place to sleep, and a place that you own, your home. In that bright shining moment she learns that there is something to be grateful about in each thing around us both big and small.

Bright Shining Moment is about the story of a sixth grader Adeline Sauriol, or Aline to her family and acquaintances, who lives in Hittonburg, Ottawa. She was being bullied by one of her classmates, Jeanine, who is from Mechanicsville which is the poorest area in their village. And one of her wishes is to be able to contribute to the charity box in their class someday. However, their family isn't that wealthy also because they also need money for their daily expenses.

Then one day, Aline finally decided to steal a dime from her mother's purse, but when she came to school, the charity box was already gone. Aline and her cousin, Lucille, bought a 10-cent worth of candies instead of returning it to her mother. And one thing leads to another because her secrets and lies started to pile up.

I might have found Aline's story adorable such as how to frighten she was keeping her secrets, but in reality, it is not. Being bully is the biggest problem she encountered, and I like how the story addressed it and on how to handle it. Bullies are bullies because they have unsolved problems in their lives, or they are trying to hide the horrible or miserable situation they are in. Compassion and love is the effective way to solve bullying because revenge and violence will not resolve it, instead, it will become more serious in the long run. And that is what one of the lessons readers could acquire from reading this wonderful children's book. This is highly recommendable for middle graders, but young adults and older readers will undeniably adore reading Aline's story in this book.

Aline’s family is so poor that she can’t even bring used chewing gum to school for the Sisters to use to hang posters on the classroom walls. The Great Depression hasn’t just hit the United States, it haunts Canada, too.

Readers follow Aline as she navigates friendships, family dynamics, and what it means to be poor. Told in the first person, the narrator struggles to understand that the world doesn’t follow strict black and white patterns. As she recounts the events leading up to her bright shining moment, she begins to understand how a small shift in perspective can allow more light into her world.

Parents and teachers might want to read this whimsical and thought-provoking story out loud to their 8-10-year-olds to help them navigate and discuss the French-Canadian vocabulary and customs. Older students will be able to find more information on the Internet on their own.

Very valuable lesson to be learned here. Really enjoyed reading this book. Was a nice and easy, comfortable read.