The Brighter I Shine
Kamee Abrahamian author Lusine Ghukasyan illustrator
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Lantana Publishing
Published:17th Oct '24
Should be back in stock very soon
A window into the lives of a refugee family from Armenia.
On their birthday, an Armenian child listens to their mother tell stories – stories of ancestors and homelands, of births and new beginnings, and of the land they now call home.
For one Armenian child, birthdays are a time for decorating the house with bunches of rose and mint and sumac, for eating beef dumplings with garlic yoghurt, and for baking cakes with family and friends. But birthdays are also a time for telling stories – stories of ancestors and homelands, of births and new beginnings, and of the land their family now calls home. For stories make up who we are, and the more stories that are told, the brighter this little child shines.
A magical tale about finding yourself in the stories of your ancestors and keeping their memories alive.
STARRED REVIEW "An Armenian child of refugees muses on ancestral stories as vehicles of connection and identity in this moving picture book. Though far from the places her ancestors called home, she embraces the traditions they passed down to her, such as traditional birthday dishes and dried herbs and flowers for decor. As her mother helps her read a birthday card from her grandmother—written in Armenian—the little girl comes to see the stories of her family in a whole new light." - Foreword Reviews
"This tenderhearted picture book follows a young child of the Armenian diaspora as they learn about their heritage and traditions on the day of their birthday. The celebration that unfolds teaches them an important lesson in survival and resilience: Despite displacement in war, despite loss and fear, home is where our stories are told." — Catherine Hernandez, author and screenwriter of Scarborough the book and film
“At the risk of sounding life a broken record, this is yet another brilliant example of Lantana covering themes which you would be hard pressed to find in many other children’s books. Kamee Abrahamian has drawn on her own life experiences to be able to explain to children the importance of remembering those who have come before you and keeping memories alive.” — Spy Readers
"On her birthday, an Armenian child decorates her home with rose, mint and sumac, smells dumplings cooking, and remembers her ancestors’ journeys, taken “so that I could be born / very far from home / in a room full of their spirits”. A colourful, poignant picture book about treasuring the stories of those who came before." —The Guardian Children’s and teens roundup – the best new picture books and novels October 2024
ISBN: 9781915244833
Dimensions: 260mm x 260mm x 9mm
Weight: 300g
32 pages