Angus All Aglow

by Heather Smith, Alice Carter (Illustrations)

Angus loves sparkly things, so much so that he can hear them. To Angus, shiny objects not only  look beautiful; they also crackle, buzz and go whiz-bang-POP! His unique ability is lost, however, when Angus wears his grandma's beaded necklace to school, and his classmates tease him for his atypical choice. Saddened by their laughter, Angus stops hearing the sparkle.

A gentle story of acceptance, generosity and friendship, Angus All Aglow reminds us that it only takes one kind gesture to restore your sparkle, and returning the kindness can make you glow from the inside out.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Friendship, LGBT, Fiction, Canada, Realistic Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 11, 2018

About the author

Originally from Newfoundland, Heather Smith now lives in Waterloo, Ontario, with her husband and three children. Her Newfoundland roots inspire much of her writing.

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was a child, there were no books about kids that didn't fit into the norm because they liked things that people thought only girls liked, or only boys liked. I wish there had been, but can't think of any, except that there were a few girls that were tom boys.

Then, in the 1970s, Williams Doll came out. It wasn't great, but it tried to show that boys can like girl things too, and there was nothing wrong with it, though it coached it with say, this was how you trained to be a good dad, so it wasn't totally gender fluid, or anything like that. Later, we had Tomie De Paola with his book Oliver Button is a Sissy about a boy who wants to draw, and not play sports. Still not gender fluid, but noticing that boys don't always want to be rough and tumble.

It hasn't been until my daughter's generation, that books have come out where kids dont' fit in, and don't try to coach it as, well, this will be good when I'm older, such as the The Sissy Duckling and recently, the one I read about a little boy who wanted a purse, just because I love my purse, even though everyone in his family tried to discourage him.

What I am trying to say, is I am quite happy to see a book about a little kid that loves sparkly things, and even though he is made fun of, he goes back to his sparkly things, such as his mothers necklace. It is ok, and everything is fine.

Hooray for kids that don't fit in, and its ok.

Cute picture book, and hopefully a good book for the kids out there that don't fit in, and can feel good about that.



Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

[Carla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Angus likes sparkling things and bright colours. These include the diamond studs of his dog's collar,the stars, the sequins on his sister's ballet skirt and even the way the sun shines on the water. He also loves what he calls shiny sounds and words like lustrous and glittering. He hears these sounds when he looks at shiny things. When his grandmother sees him admiring her sparkling beaded necklace, she gives it to him and he decides to wear it to school the next day. Unfortunately, not everyone thinks that the necklace is wonderful. The kids tease him about it, laughing and being very rude, until he loses his love for sparkling things. He doesn't hear the sounds and he breaks the necklace trying to get it off. The next day, Angus is in for a surprise. With a new friend in tow, he gets his sparkle back again.

This is a beautiful story about being yourself and not letting others put you down. This is a great story to teach acceptance and kindness. It shows us that it is okay to be different and be proud of it. I loved the illustrations in this book. They sparkled with bright colours and the text did as well. The sparkling adjectives and verbs are bright colours that highlight those words to the reader or listener. The children I read this book to really enjoyed it. It was interesting to hear my nephew comment that boys don't wear necklaces and I told him that they can if they want, as my grandson proudly displayed two necklaces that belonged to his great-grandma. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book via Netgalley.

[Karen Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a speech language pathologist working with young children, I must emphasize how many children should read Angus All Aglow. It’s a sweet, little story of acceptance and friendship. The illustrations help support the text about an amazing child, Angus, who loves sparkling things, both words and objects. His grandmother gives him her sparkly necklace for a day at school. His mates don’t embrace his love for his choices and the necklace breaks. His friend, Melody, helps him make a new one to help him feel better and feel accepted. I’m in love with the character, Angus, and his gentle nature. I’m so glad Angus finds someone to connect with in the end. It’s a story of acceptance and it could be a great teaching tool for preschool teachers, librarians and therapists who work with young children. Love the illustrations, that enhance each page of the book! This book shows us sometimes all we need is a friend. A solid five stars!

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for an advance e-copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

[Ioanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Angus likes sparkling things. From the diamond studs of his dog's collar, to the star that shine bright at night, he just adores anything that sparkles. In fact, all those bright, shiny objects seem to make beautiful sounds around him.

Our little friend decides to wear a sparkly necklace at school one day. Unfortunately, not everyone seem to understand or respect different tastes. So, his schoolmates act rudely, making fun of him. Disappointed, Angus seems to have lost his love for glowing thing. He can't even hear them anymore.
But Angus will make a new friend, one that is kind, and sweet, and will help him find his sparkle again. After all, we all need to love something colorful and glowing .

Angus All Aglow is a beautiful story about being yourself, not letting others put you down, and never letting your inner glow dim. It teaches acceptance and kindness. But above all else, it shows us that it's ok to be the way we want to be and to have different tastes.

This is a wonderful book to read with your child. Definitely recommended for everyone.

[Mary Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another "boy who likes sparkly things" bend-the-gender-expectations book where a boy ventures into girl territory and is shamed for it. What do books like this REALLY teach children about gender expectations?

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. The illustrations were simple but conveyed a lot. I loved the descriptive text and fun words. I think it gives an important message about teasing and also about standing out. It also shows how important it is to have someone truly understand you!
#netgalley

[LeeTravelGoddess · Rating 3 out of 5]

So cute!

[Margi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Possibly my favourite picture book. Wonderful vocabulary and terrific message of inclusion.

[Kenzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the book Angus All Aglow by Heather Smith on a list of LGBTQ+ books on the Children's Library Lady website. I picked it because, as a primary school teacher, I would like to have more LGBTQ+ books that are age-appropriate for my students. Angus All Aglow has positive reviews on Booklist, CM Magazine, and The Horn Book Online. This book is written for children aged 3-5, but this book would be a good read-aloud for students as old as first grade.
Angus is a boy who likes all things that sparkle and shine. He can even hear them pop. He goes through his day admiring everything that shines. When his grandma sees him admiring her five-strand sparkling necklace, she gives it to him. The next day, his parents and sister try to talk Angus out of wearing his bright necklace to school. Angus was so proud of his necklace that he didn’t pay them any attention. However, his classmates laughed at his necklaces when he got to school. In a rush to take it off, he broke the necklace, and the beads rolled around the ground. Melody Daniels, a girl at his school, saw this happen, and Angus just left. Melody Daniels kept some of the beads, and the next day at recess, she helped Angus use the beads to make friendship bracelets. The illustrations in this book are not as bright and shiny as you think they would be. This book focuses more on the words to convey that things sparkle and less on the illustrations. The illustrations show when things are bright and sparkly, without vibrant colors and shine.
Although the author and illustrator are not writing or drawing this book from an insider perspective of the LGBTQ+ community, they do have experience with breaking gender norms. For example, Heather Smith has short hair.
This is a great book to read to primary-aged students to show that breaking gender norms is okay. The class can discuss things that they do that break gender norms, like girls playing sports or boys cooking. The teacher can also use this book as a read-aloud and talk about all the different descriptive words that the author used to describe the things that Angus likes. This is a good book to introduce the LGBTQ+ community to younger students.

[Storywraps · Rating 5 out of 5]

This delightful story highlights gender stereotypes, loyal friendship, celebrating differences and boosting self-esteem, all qualities that kids need to hear about these days.

Angus is an adorable little boy who happens to love all things sparkly. He is so tuned into their beautiful auras that he hears them snap, crackle and pop. He adores sparkly words too such as lustrous, scintillating, gleaming and his all-time favourite.... glistening. Mmmm... mmmmm... divine!!!!

His loving Grandma June notices how much Angus admires her sparkly necklace one day while they are playing cards together and slips it off of her neck and onto his.


"Angus felt a twinkling deep inside his belly.
It was his inner sparkle fizzy and warm.
Angus sparkled from the inside and out."



Angus is in heaven. The next morning he decides to celebrate his precious gift by wearing it school. The reaction he receives from his classmates is anything but praise and adoration. They tease and malign him making him feel ashamed and his feelings are very hurt, so much so that he loses his ability to hear and connect to the sparkles he sees around him. Oh my!

Poor Angus. Will he ever recover from the ridicule and meanness that was bestowed upon him by his unkind peers?

Luckily one friend, Melody Daniels, takes it upon herself to step up and lead Angus back to happiness. She offers him kindness and understanding and in so doing he discovers a kindred spirit in her towards all things sparkly. The book points out that friends do exist and that friendship is a very powerful thing. Having a wonderful, supportive friend can lift your spirits, bring enjoyment into your life and build up your confidence and self-esteem.

I love this book and feel it should be in every classroom and school library. It boasts a relevant, positive message and is a perfect segue into a discussion on friendship, tolerance, kindness and celebrating uniqueness. I highly recommend this book.

[Tiyahna Ridley-Padmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Angus All Aglow , Heather Smith writes about Angus, a young boy who loves everything about sparkles. Whenever Angus experiences something sparkly - whether sparkly clothes or sparkly words, it makes him happy. When his grandma gives him a sparkly necklace that he'd been admiring, his parents and sister are worried that it might be too flashy to wear to school. Angus can't be dissuaded, he loves his sparkly necklace and wears it to school anyways. At school, the kids make fun of him and his necklace ends up breaking. Angus is so sad and disappointed that he can't find joy in sparkly things anymore until his friend makes him matching sparkling bracelets that they wear together to school.

AH! This book has all of the things. With Angus's family being mixed race, it offers racial representation that is still largely lacking in the literary world. It challenges gender norms and socially acceptable forms of gender expression. It shows (unfortunate) realistic concerns and hostility among family members and school mates who don't understand fluidity in gender expression. It demonstrates positive and supportive allyship (Angus's grandmother and best friend were supportive). And, as far as children's books go, Angus All Aglow is so, very engaging. Smith and Carter use onomatopoeia, play with font sizes and colours and uses fun words which makes this book a real page turner.

[FM Family · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this up because my 3 year old LOVED A Plan for Pops by the same author. That story showed an LGBTQ grandparent couple, where this one doesn’t dip as strongly into LGBTQ themes but does show angus as a boy who likes “non-ended typical” things, namely sparkly colourful things. But in his case, unlike Sparkle Boy or Morris Micklethwaite or some of the other books in this wheelhouse, Angus has the added layer of being a synesthete, someone who hears sounds when he sees colours. The book does a good job of presenting this in an unworrying way and without making any explicit links to gender, exactly. The other kids are jerks about Angus’s interest in colourful and sparkly things, predictably, but one friend shows up to help him out. I found it interesting that no one in the family took him aside and briefed him that kids in his class might not understand or might be uncool about his necklace, instead they all said vague things like “it doesn’t go with what you’re wearing”. But probably fairly likely that they would mince words like that so I accept it.

My 3.5 year old enjoys this one a lot, though as ever, hasn’t really articulated why. I think it’s mostly a 3 star but I’m bumping to 4 since she liked it and for the synesthesia.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A story you can read with your eyes and your ears. The illustrations do well to not only illustrate the text but show the emotions of the main character with the colors on the page. The text moves around and has different colored text and fonts for words that make sounds, which is visually appealing. Plus the story just warms the heart-a young kiddo loves things that are bright and sparkly and is super happy when his grandmother gives him her necklace. But a negative experience causes him distress and he breaks the necklace. Another child at school gathers the beads and returns them the next day, sharing that she too loves sparkly things, and also associates sounds with the sparkle. Angus's joy is returned and he had a new friend. A really sweet story that would fit a theme of friendship, being true to yourself, sounds, even emotions if listeners can discuss the characters as the book progresses. A lovely story, with wonderful illustrations.

[Aliza Werner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Angus loves all things sparkly. But he’s a boy, and according to gender norms, he shouldn’t. But sparkly things make him feel sparkly inside. When he wears his favorite sparkly item, his grandma’s necklace, to school, kids react negatively and make rude comments, dimming Angus’s sparkle. Angus finds a way to get his literal and metaphorical sparkle back with the support of a friend. I love this story for many reasons: the MC bends gender norms, the family is interracial, rainbow pride is shown clearly (socks, bracelets), and the MC ultimately remains true to himself. From a writing standpoint, the text is rich in simile, metaphor, onomatopoeia, imagery, symbolism, and literal/figurative device. The vocabulary is delicious.

[Richelle Zirkle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a super sweet story about a boy fascinated with bright, shiny things. Every brilliant thing around him has a sound all its own. When Angus decides to wear the necklace from his grandma to school one day, some of the other students don't appreciate his sense of style. Angus breaks the necklace and the sounds of bright objects seem to disappear. Will the acceptance of Angus's friend Melody be able to help him feel like himself again?

The illustrations are cute and appealing. This title is perfect for teaching acceptance, friendship, and not letting the opinions of others determine your choices.

I received an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Ellon · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars (I loved it)

This was a suggested book for our text-to-self lesson so I decided to use it this year instead of Amazing Grace. It's a very cute book! There is a lot of colors (and sparkles) in the illustrations and I love the connection made between the sparkly objects and the sparkly words. Also love the message about being yourself. A new favorite!

[Clazzzer C · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a lovely story or friendship, acceptance and love. My kids an dI have read it many times already. It shows how one word or gesture can knock a person down or can build a person up. It highlights the importance of always thinking before you act, thinking before you speak and not speaking at all if you've nothing good to say. It's a must read for all people. both young and old in today's difficult to navigate world.

[Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I understand this book perfectly! Colors pop for me, too! I like that when the necklace broke Angus made bracelets out it for he and his friend, Melody! I am sre the illustrations will be wonderful in color! Littles and young readers are going to enjoy this book.
I received a Kindle Arc from Netgalley in exchange for a fair review.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Has great word choice.
Angus loves sparkly things. When he goes to school, he is teased about his necklace. His family tried to warn him, in order to avoid the hurt they saw coming. What Angus doesn't expect is the response of one of his classmates. A great book about friendship, inclusion, emotions, and how things don't have to be labeled boy or girl.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very sweet book about a little boy who loves sparkly things. And really, who doesn't love that? Unfortunately there are others who don't like that he likes these things and make fun of him or try to talk him out of wearing his favorite necklace. The illustrations are so colorful and bright that you can almost hear all the pops, clacks, and buzzes.

[MaryAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely book about a boy who loves sparkles but goes a bit too far for his classmates one day. Melody befriends Angus and helps him. I wish an adult had stepped in at least a little. I really wish the final scene didn't imply that it really is better to be just a little less sparkly. But the representation is nice and will speak to some members of our classroom.

[Neha Thakkar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet, about a child (boy?) who loves sparkly things. He wears his special necklace to school and is teased. He runs out and yanks the necklace...oh no beautiful beads everywhere! A friend helps him find his sparkle again!

[Freddie D · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a fellow fan of all that glitters, this sweet tale really spoke to me. I love the way that this evokes sight and sound, with it's brilliant colours and wonderful onomatopoeia. It's ultimately a story about friendship, love and acceptance surrounding self expression and identity.

[Lara Lillibridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book on being yourself, breaking gender stereotypes, and friendship. I used this for my story time and an introduction to stereotypes and how they hurt us. Everyone should be able to like what they like without ridicule.

[Sandra Appleby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Angus shows up with a sparkly necklace that he loves; gets teased, breaks the necklace, a friend collects the beads and makes friendship bracelets out of it. When Angus goes back to school, everyone is nice to him. I'm just left wondering what made the children change?

[L1ll14n · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a cute story about a boy who loves sparkly things. A great book that will help to open communication with kids about being different and accepting people as they are. #Netgalley

[Esme · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can read this as a story about synesthesia, or gender expectations, or friendship. Either way, it's a winner.

[Peg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the audio book.

[Story · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay. I thought it ended abruptly.

[Caitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO WONDERFUL This book needs to be EVERYWHERE.