Official Review: The Light Within Me

[Mallory Whitaker]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Light Within Me" by Lauren Grabois Fischer.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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The Light Within Me is a children's book written by Lauren Grabois Fischer and illustrated by Devin Hunt. It's the fifth installment of The Be Books, a series that is meant to inspire children to "BE positive, accepting, kind, and loving." This is a self-empowering book with something to offer for children - or adults - of every age.

We all have a light within us. Happiness, positivity, and confidence can make that light shine bright. Your light might turn off when you're feeling negative, disappointed, or anxious. You don't have to wallow in darkness; you have the power to choose to keep your light turned on. When you decide to let your light shine, you'll do more than make yourself feel better—having your light on means that you can spread kindness, positivity, and joy to everyone you encounter, which in turn, helps them keep their light shining brightly, too. We have the power to make the world a better place simply by choosing to be positive.

Without a plot-driven narrative, The Light Within Me reads a bit like a self-help book for children. Even without a story, the book remains engaging, even for its youngest readers. The first-person perspective (using a young girl as the narrator) kept the author's messages on a personable level, helping readers feel more connected to the text than an unidentified third-person narrator would have. Additionally, using a child gave the prose youthful energy and enthusiasm. This vivacity was compounded with colorful, whimsical full-page illustrations and its playful, large font, making the overall package even more appealing, especially for younger readers.

A section called "Inspiration and Discussion" makes up the last five pages of this 40-page book. These activities seem to be meant for the whole family, and I think that children and adults alike could benefit from them. There are questions to start discussions and activities to facilitate positivity and well-being. For example, there's information about mediation, donating old toys/clothes, and creating a goal to make five people smile each day. This was easily my favorite part of the book because I can get bogged down by the stresses of life and forget about the small things that make it all worthwhile. I've started using some of these activities at home, both on my own and with my 4-year-old.

The work appears to be professionally edited, as I only noticed two minor errors. The only other "error" I saw was in the illustration on page 26. The girl is supposed to pushing up the light switch, but the way her hands are positioned makes it look like she's pulling it down. The only other critique I have is that it doesn't really take into account that some people have depression, and happiness isn't as easy as deciding to be happy. This could make some children feel like there's something wrong with them. However, I also understand that the author couldn't cover everything, and this book would still serve as a useful tool for parents to open up discussions about depression, anxiety, etc.

Overall, the few issues I had with this book are greatly outweighed by the self-empowering messages, beautiful illustrations, and the "Inspiration and Discussion" portion. Therefore, I'm happy to give it a rating of 4 out of 4 stars. I recommend this book to children of all ages, mainly because of the activities included. The simplistic language and illustrations in the first section will be most appealing to those in elementary school and below.

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The Light Within Me
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[Kristy Khem]

I like the concept of a self-help book for kids instead of a story. In a story, sometimes it's easy to miss the point if you're a kid. The concept of turning your light on and off is pretty cool too. Great review!

[Yvonne Monique]

Although I would prefer kids not to need any kind of self help books, this book might be helpful for some.

[Vivian Jabeya]

I love the send paragraph of your review. I read it twice. Good review!

[Atieno Magero]

Wonderful review! Your review has been helpful and provided me great insight about this book. This seems like a wonderful children's book.

[Suzer6440 xyz]

Sounds like an amazing book! The review is excellent in describing positives and encouraging uplifting and kind actions. It looks like it’s a great book for children and adults also. Kudos to all this greatness !! Just love the feeling I get when an inspiring book like this comes along . Thanks for sharing..

[Praise GodWord]

I totally agree with this review and book. Happiness, positivity allows our lights to shine brighter. I love this motivating book.

[Kashmere 505]

In reading the children's book I was very delighted in the message that was given for young children and family young children and people of all ages what's fascinating is you can learn alot from children.

[Damian Keyes]

Children's books that delve into the topic of confidence and having a positive mindset is always needed. Kids go through things mentally that they don't know how to articulate, so a book like this can cover the basics of what they go through and how to fix it.

[MarvMike]

Wonderful review, helped me a lot even without reading the book. A great children's book.

[Naomi Kalia]

This is a great review it made me understand and grasp what the book is about without reading it. I think that this book has a great meaning behind it because kids need do get sad and this book will help them remember the small things in life. It's a great children's book.

[Ferdinand_Otieno]

This is an inspirational and incredible children's book that empowers the reader to bring more light into this world, and to find it within themselves. The book is temporarily free on Amazon Kindle and has an inciteful OnlineBookClub review. Congrats on the BOTD selection.

[Lisa A Rayburn]

Inspiring kids can be difficult. That this author has succeeded repeatedly in her "To Be" series is highly commendable! I love books that can open discussions between parent and child. I'll definitely be getting this one for my grandson. Thanks for the wonderful, upbeat review!

[Aan Granados]

I like that there are activities that kids can follow like aiming to make five people smile every day. This is a great book and I think it will be beneficial for the kids. Thanks for your review.

[AntonelaMaria]

This seems like an excellent book that can inspire children to connect with others and be more positive. I loved the illustrations. I think that this book is best suited for preschoolers. Good job with the review.