Shine! (3rd Article in a 9 Part Series)

 ***Skip the intro if you have already read the 1st or 2nd blog in this series of 9.  Go straight to the Title and Author information.

***This blog entry is for teachers’ (and parents’) eyes only! It is intended to help teachers learn about the books on the William Allen White nominee list for this year, and then make decisions about how they might want to use some of these books during the upcoming school year.  There are 9 books on the list. This is the 3rd blog in a series of 9.

The William Allen White Book Award is for kids in the state of Kansas to vote each year for their favorite from a list of nominated books. If you are a 3rd - 5th grade teacher in Kansas, this blog will hopefully be very useful. But even if you teach a grade level adjacent to these grades or teach somewhere other than Kansas, I think you will find some useful information regarding some books that have made it to the 2021-22 WAW nominated list. 

Title:  Shine!

Author: J.J. and Chris Grabenstein

Format:  Chapter Book, 224 pages (paperback available starting Sept. 14, 2021)

This is a really fun, feel good book.  7th grader, Piper, is trying to fit in at an elite private school.  She has a great relationship with her dad.  Her mother has died, but the story doesn’t revolve around that issue except that her dad teaches school rather than pursuing a career as a Broadway musical writer in order to provide stability for Piper.  Dad has just landed a job as a music teacher at the new school, hence the reason for Piper to be at a “new to her” school.  She finds a small group of friends even though there are some snooty “villains” as well.  The story focuses on Piper’s desire to “shine” in some way.  However, she is the type of kid who blends in, not the one to stand out.  She doesn’t have her father’s musical abilities, but eventually she finds a way to “shine” even though she doesn’t think she is very talented.  

This book would make a really good classroom read-aloud, especially for 4th and 5th grades.  I think it could work for 3rd graders as well, however, it’s a pretty big age gap between the listening audience and the protagonist. On that note, though, there isn’t any content in this book that makes me wary of 3rd-5th graders reading it, even though the protagonist is a 7th grader and the setting is a middle school.  

Teachers and parents will love this book because it teaches kids that kindness is always rewarded, even if the reward is delayed or is only realized intrinsically.  It also teaches that kindness can come in many forms and doesn’t matter how big or small the act of kindness is.   3rd-5th graders will like this book because the theme of kindness doesn’t come across as “preachy” or didactic.  They will be pulled in by the authentic characters and situations.  As a bonus, kids who like science will enjoy that Piper loves science (especially aeronautics and space science) and has a great science teacher.  

This book is written by Chris Grabenstein (of the Mr. Lemoncello book series fame) and his wife, J.J. Grabenstein.  This is a debut novel for them as a writing team. The Grabensteins have a knack for showing us a glimpse of the musings and motives of the antagonists (Ainsley in this story) as well as our unlikely heroine, Piper.  I think this gives kids authentic perspectives to be able to see why people act the way they do.