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Gwynne, Fair & Shining
Gwynne, Fair & Shining is a twenty-four page children's book, written in verse, about a young girl who learns she is special and can be anything she wants to be.
- GenresChildrensPicture Books
24 pages, Hardcover
First published November 15, 2006
14 people are currently reading
86 people want to read
About the author
Stephanie Lisa Tara
16 books35 followersStephanie Lisa Tara founded a publishing company that empowers kids to care about the planet, themselves and each other. Her creed is activism, inspiring the next generation to make the world a better place. Adults love her books because they help explain 'stuff' in gentle, giggly ways. Kids love her books because they are super fun to read. Who is Stephanie? A San Francisco mom with a great big heart. As a child she had bright red hair, a little too bright in fact. Being different got Stephanie thinking...our differences are the celebration! Whether scaly, feathered, furry, or human-skinned; we all call Earth home. Lyrical prose that dances on our tongue, breathtaking watercolors that illume our imaginations...these are the hallmarks of Stephanie's work.
PRESERVE. CONSERVE. INSPIRE. TEACH. We've only one planet to save. Stephanie Lisa Tara Children's Books®
PRESERVE. CONSERVE. INSPIRE. TEACH. We've only one planet to save. Stephanie Lisa Tara Children's Books®
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
April 18, 2013
Gwynne starts out the tale as a maid scrubbing in a castle cold and dark. Her world is dismal and dreary until she creeps to the fireplace and discovers the magic. Magic stirs her soul and she creeps out of the castle and discovers the magic of music and the world outside. A small flute enables Gwynne to bring magical music to the animals and the angry people and thus she transforms the world around her and herself until at the end she is no longer the maid covered in dirt, but a beautiful princess thanks to a fairy queen. All because she believed in herself and the magic around her.
This is a sweet little story with colorful illustrations and rhyming verse. My hesitations with this book are that sometimes the rhymes are a little strange and the story isn't exactly clear and I wasn't a fan of the mean people. However, in the end, I did like that it has a wonderful message that you can believe in yourself and change the world around you with music and happiness.
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Posted@Rainy Day Ramblings.
This is a sweet little story with colorful illustrations and rhyming verse. My hesitations with this book are that sometimes the rhymes are a little strange and the story isn't exactly clear and I wasn't a fan of the mean people. However, in the end, I did like that it has a wonderful message that you can believe in yourself and change the world around you with music and happiness.
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Posted@Rainy Day Ramblings.
April 10, 2013
The blog tour for this book (and her other children's books) is running through April 22nd, 2013. You can enter to win $500 in Amazon Gift Cards (DOUBLED if you review them!) and a Kindle Fire. Tour page is found here: http://www.candacesbookblog.com/2013/...
Once again this book is in verse. As with her other books it's easy to get swept up into the adorable story.
Gwynne is a servant in the palace who discovers music and learns to believe in herself. Her very own magic.
Once again the illustrations are eye catching and beautiful. This one is full of vibrant colors that fill the pages and make you excited to read more and find out what Gwynne does.
This one is more for the girls, but younger boys often don't differentiate that stuff, and I think it's good for them to get the message that they should believe in themselves and their dreams.
Once again it includes an academic lesson plan at the end of the book which includes a song and dance as well as other activities.
This is definitely a book that should be in every classroom library!
Once again this book is in verse. As with her other books it's easy to get swept up into the adorable story.
Gwynne is a servant in the palace who discovers music and learns to believe in herself. Her very own magic.
Once again the illustrations are eye catching and beautiful. This one is full of vibrant colors that fill the pages and make you excited to read more and find out what Gwynne does.
This one is more for the girls, but younger boys often don't differentiate that stuff, and I think it's good for them to get the message that they should believe in themselves and their dreams.
Once again it includes an academic lesson plan at the end of the book which includes a song and dance as well as other activities.
This is definitely a book that should be in every classroom library!
April 4, 2013
Gwynne, Fair & Shining is a short children’s book with very pleasant illustrations. I like that Gwynne doesn’t let her circumstances define who she can become. Even when the knights are nasty, rude and offensively mean, she still believes in following her heart and I really like the way she insists on pursuing what her heart truly desires. I think we can all learn something positive and empowering from this little story.
--
Originally posted on Leisure Reads.
A copy was provided by author for review purposes.
--
Originally posted on Leisure Reads.
A copy was provided by author for review purposes.
October 3, 2015
Gwynne fair and shining is a bit of a Cinderella like fairy tale with lyrical stanzas telling the short transformation of Gwynne from a maid sweeping ashes to a princess by a Faerie-Queen. It's rhyming gives it a nice feel as you read and I kid tested this one on my 5 yr old very non Princess like niece. She loved it! It's a great, quick first fairy tale! The pictures give a young listener plenty to look at with castles and colorful musical notes dancing on the page. There's even a little mouse that appears on the pages in the castle. My niece liked to look for it on the pages. And with the addition of activities or "lesson plans" this would be great for a birthday party with the games built into the book and suggested in the back. The book could be a party favor!
March 11, 2012
Cute rhymes, a little bit tongue tied in spots for little ones but I liked the rhythm and flow. The pictures are darling.
Didn't realize it was about magic. I don't usually read these, even children's.
Didn't realize it was about magic. I don't usually read these, even children's.
June 15, 2012
It was cute.
March 19, 2013
Lovely, soft dreamy illustrations and flowing if occasionally clunky text, tell a sweet, inspiring story about following your dreams and believing in yourself.
July 20, 2018
I ordered this book after I read Tara's novel "Eliza's Forever Trees." I thought this would be a nice book to have in the library for the younger kids. However, I found the story lacking. I kept thinking (since I had ordered a used book) that maybe the first few pages were missing. Nope. There's no set-up for who the girl is--is she a captive, a Cinderella-type character who is being forced to be a maid? Does she live there? Is the "grandmother" whose voice she hears, the former queen and she the princess? Is the knight her father? Her captor? She runs off to the forest and the animals remember her from long ago. Again, who is she? Oh well, it just muddy and confusing and the verse is not even that good to carry the story forward. The illustrations are beautiful and sweet. The basis of the story is (I guess) finding your inner strength to be who you are (but WHO is she?), and you'll magically be turned into a princess. My copy did not have any songs or lessons in the back. I probably won't add this to the library, definitely not using it for read-aloud. It's just too confusing. I'm temped to write my own story to go along with the lovely illustrations. (I did write my own verse for a bird book that was just too dry, but had great illustrations of birds--and I told the kids I rewrote it and why! They seemed to understand!)
August 9, 2014
Maybe I'm missing something, but I just didn't get it. This was barely a story, just a mish-mash of verse with inconsistent meter. Gwynne is a maid to a knight who seems to be angry for no reason. She hears music coming from the fire, and, for some reason, there's a magic flute in there. Gwynne dances, the knight kicks her out, she goes to the forest to talk with some animals, returns to the hall, and a fairy pops out of the flute and turns her into a princess.
It's not even a story you could enjoy reading aloud to little kids, because the meter is so clumsy in places that it tripped me up even as I read it silently. The book is only twenty four pages long... so it wasn't as if there was an awful lot to edit to make it sound more smooth and song-like (which is what I assume the author was going for).
The book's only real saving grace? The illustrations. They're cute and kids will probably enjoy looking at them. But they seem out of place, too refined and professional for the clunky verse they're paired with.
Quotable moment:
http://theladybugreads.blogspot.ca/20...
It's not even a story you could enjoy reading aloud to little kids, because the meter is so clumsy in places that it tripped me up even as I read it silently. The book is only twenty four pages long... so it wasn't as if there was an awful lot to edit to make it sound more smooth and song-like (which is what I assume the author was going for).
The book's only real saving grace? The illustrations. They're cute and kids will probably enjoy looking at them. But they seem out of place, too refined and professional for the clunky verse they're paired with.
Quotable moment:
Castles are cold
Castles are dim,
Cold without
Cold within.
But hearths are warm
With fire and flame,
Hearths hide magic
All the same.
http://theladybugreads.blogspot.ca/20...
August 13, 2014
Cute and pretty illustrations, but the story was flat for me. A girl hears a flute, runs away from her job as a castle maid, gets some animal pals, and returns to the castle to be a princess. Gwynne didn't have any kind of arc or journey, she had no personality (not even a simple one -- no character traits at all), and she didn't have to do anything to get her reward (not even something small like "believe in magic" or "stay positive"); consequently, I did not have any emotion to her or her story. The book was also written in rhyming verse, but it sometimes broke its rhyme scheme and it never really found a steady meter/rhythm.
April 9, 2013
Reviewed by Jessica for Book Sake.
A fairytale told short and sweet. While many of the rhymes were far stretches and didn’t make sense to me I can still see that overall young girls will enjoy this one. It focuses on a flute making the musical magic for Gwyne and with that a “one-two, one-two” rhyme. The back pages of the book feature lesson plan ideas for teachers to use with the story.
Book Received: For free from author in exchange for an honest review.
A fairytale told short and sweet. While many of the rhymes were far stretches and didn’t make sense to me I can still see that overall young girls will enjoy this one. It focuses on a flute making the musical magic for Gwyne and with that a “one-two, one-two” rhyme. The back pages of the book feature lesson plan ideas for teachers to use with the story.
Book Received: For free from author in exchange for an honest review.
July 4, 2015
I didn't care for the message that girls are weak and cry or the emphasis on beauty, but the rest of the message was pretty solid. The illustrations were great.
January 1, 2015
My daughter and I read this story together. She loved it and thought it was well written. Also, the illustrations were beautiful!
August 10, 2014
Cute, good moral message lovely illustrations with soft colors
April 10, 2017
Reading this story, I was a bit confused about where it was heading. The story starts out as a "Cinderella-esq" type of girl and moves from there. There are fantasy and music with fun but the story simply did not flow well. Also, the poetry came off as contrived. This was unfortunate.
I cannot say that I hate this book but I also cannot figure out how it is an award winner. However, the ending message that girls, in particular, can do anything they want is loud and clear.
The only thing I think may have helped it is the style of illustrations. The colors are muted but they are whimsy and fun as the intention of the whole book was meant to be.
Overall, I suppose I can give this book a 3-star review as it was simply okay in my mind.
Disclosure: I purchased a Kindle copy of this book. The review here is 100% my own and may differ from yours. ~M.M. aka Naila Moon
I cannot say that I hate this book but I also cannot figure out how it is an award winner. However, the ending message that girls, in particular, can do anything they want is loud and clear.
The only thing I think may have helped it is the style of illustrations. The colors are muted but they are whimsy and fun as the intention of the whole book was meant to be.
Overall, I suppose I can give this book a 3-star review as it was simply okay in my mind.
Disclosure: I purchased a Kindle copy of this book. The review here is 100% my own and may differ from yours. ~M.M. aka Naila Moon
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews