Shining

by Julius Lester, John Clapp (Illustrator)

In a small mountain village, a young girl named Shining is born. As she grows, Shining runs, plays, and smiles like other children, but she does so silently. The villagers fear and shun her, but Shining remains silent and waits for the right moment, and for the right sound, to come--a sound so true, it will win the hearts of her people . . . and win Shining her rightful place as their leader.
Newbery Honor author Julius Lester has created a powerful tale about the importance of remaining true to one's self and finding one's voice. John Clapp's luminous paintings add a breathtaking dimension to Shining, a character as distinct and enchanting as the world she inhabits.
Notes by the author and the illustrator supplement the text.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2003

About the author

Julius Lester was an American writer of books for children and adults. He was an academic who taught for 32 years (1971–2003) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He was also a photographer, as well as a musician who recorded two albums of folk music and original songs.

Reviews

[Lucia · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Long ago in a mountain village, a girl called Shining was born. . . "
She came into the world, beautiful, bright-eyed and silent. Her father said she was "so black her skin shines like the sun." But she also did not cry, laugh, or speak. Because of this, she was considered evil by the rest of the village.

This is a beautiful tail of how powerful being different can be. The words flow so beautifully through this book and the illustratious bring the text more closely to the reader.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

you will not find a better illustrated book.

[ConnieLettow · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't love the book, or more specifically, the art. The author spoke of wanting to equate the color black to something positive, but the art was super scary for a kids book and the color black was not portrayed well as something positive. The words were often forced sounding and stilted. The story itself was relatively good, but nothing to write home about as it was too hazy to explain well to a child of the age that typically uses picture books.

In a small mountain village, a young girl named Shining is born to Solgi, as black as wisdom and with a gaze as bottomless as the unknown. She came into the world, beautiful, bright-eyed and silent. Nya, her mid-wife saw that she was healthy, but was worried about her lack of crying. Her father, Kimaru said she was "so black her skin shines like the sun." But she also did not cry, laugh, or speak. Because of this, Kiumaru ran out of the room in fear. As she grows, Shining runs, plays, and smiles like other children, but she does so silently. The villagers fear and shun her, but Shining remains silent When Shining turns 2 her parents decide to take her to "the one". Solgi rises with the dawn with Shining in a sling on her back, and follows the path deep into the dark forest. A voice instructs Solgi to "release the child". The one appears as a tall woman sheathed in a red robe, and guards and tends the souls of the living and the dead. Solgi releases Shining, and without hesitation, Shining runs into the arms of "the one". Solgi tells "the one" that Shining is silent and that she fears that an evil spirit has taken her daughter's voice. "The One" whispers "I will see you on the other side of silence" into Shining's ear, and hands her back to Solgi. They return to the village and Shining and waits until Shining turns 12. When she turns 12, Solgi takes Shining to a stream, bathes her face, and tells her that today they are preparing for "the parting". At the new moon Shining and the other girls will be taken to the sacred compound in the mountains. There, they will all live for a year and Nya the midwife, and the Council of Women will teach them the ways of women. Shining is excited as she believes she will now reach the other side and her silence will end. As they gather in their ritual robes at the clearing all the other girls shrink away from Shining. Nya goes to Shining and tells her she can not participate in The Parting, because a child that can speak, but refuses to do so, must be evil. She told Shining "we can not allow you to live among us. Your silence steals peoples souls." Shining and her parents were devastated. Shining passed out and did not awaken for a year. At that time the girls return to the village with the yellow robes of women. In astonishment and fear, the villagers realized "the one" had also come to the village and she was looking for someone. Then Shining awoke, donned a robe of yellow and went out to meet the one. When the one embraced Shining she crossed over to the other side of silence. Silence became a language. The language of listening. The one put her robe onto Shining and Shining became "the one" Then Shining and The One returned to the that place high in the mountains together.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! I loved this beautiful book. The writing was poetic and the beauty in being different is powerful. Adding this to the books that I read over and over.

[Lilly Mckee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful book with beautiful illustrations. Found a copy thrifting, and passed it on to my younger siblings. Hope they enjoy it as I did. ☺️

[Jim Sibigtroth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love to read this book to third grade classes when they are beginning to write creative stories. The students become so curious about why the main character behaves so strangely and does not speak or make any noise at all, that they can be convinced to remain absolutely silent for a minute or so to try to hear the sound that Shining makes when she finally opens her mouth to speak. It is fun to see their faces as they realize the strange things they can hear in a school when the whole class stops making any sounds of their own. Sounds that have always been there, but they have never heard before because they were too busy making sounds rather than listening. I tell them that they could listen carefully and try to make up a story (typically fiction) about what might be making the sounds.
The book is also filled with surprising analogies.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A precious story about the beauty of silence. Illustrations and texts are rhythmically soothing to the heart.