Review: Brightley and Glow
Brightley and Glow are two stars who are brothers and best friends. Brightley discovers he is a shooting star, which means he'll have to leave Glow and fly around the universe, granting wishes. Since Glow is a shining star Glow cannot go with Brightley and must stay behind.
The brother stars are understandably saddened by this. The Queen Star shows up and magically changes Glow into a shooting star so that he can go with Brightley and the brothers can stay together.
I'm really not that pleased with the message this one sends. Conformity is good? Being unique and special is not to be recognized as good? How about, there's a reason some are shooting stars and some are shining stars, because the universe needs both? That differences aren't only good, but needed and important?
Many children have situations where an older sibling goes off without them for some reason, temporarily, such as a summer camp, or for longer, such as a school. I experienced that myself as a really young kid when a much older sibling went away to college. I was really sad, but no magic fairy was going to show up and magically change me into being old enough to go with her.
So, in addition to not celebrating individuality and each having our own talents, this one also misses the opportunity to deal in a positive way with being separated from older siblings.
And, perhaps a bit too picky, it also bothers me that the one star's name is spelled "Brightley" and not "Brightly". Sure, I understand that proper names don't follow normal spelling rules, but this is a picture book, and that's a bit above picture book age understanding.
I like the artwork.
2