Bright Shining Moment

by Deb Loughead

Overview

Aline hides under the hay when her father takes her to school in their horse-drawn sled. She’s embarrassed that her mother raises chickens in their yard, and doesn’t want her school friends to find out that their family has taken in boarders for the extra money. When she learns that her sworn enemy, Jeanine, can buy chewing gum, Aline is furious at the unfairness. She knows that Jeanine’s family is even poorer than her own. When Aline’s mother can’t spare any money for a charity drive at school, Aline decides to steal a coin from her purse. She quickly feels terrible. But how can she confess? Aline comes to realize that life is more complicated than she thought. A ten-cent coin can cost you more in unhappiness than you ever imagined, a sworn enemy can become a friend, and the hard times make the bright and shining moments glow even brighter.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781772600728
Publisher:	Second Story Press
Publication date:	09/25/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	178
File size:	4 MB
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Deb Loughead is the author of more than 40 books for children and young adults, ranging from poetry and plays to picture books and novels. She lives with her husband Dan in Toronto. Her three adult sons have long flown the coop.

Editorial Reviews

...Bright Shining Moment is subtle, never moralizing, always recognizing that people's stories are far greater than outward appearances may suggest. There is an appreciation for those who struggle and understanding for those who put on façades while still recognizing that there are those who are more fortunate and still charitable.

CanLit for LittleCanadians

"Deb Loughead, author of over forty children's and young adults' books, is an expert at showing rather than telling. Aline's first-person, present-tense account makes the reader feel like her friend sharing her concerns. Bright Shining Moment is both a character-driven novel and a glimpse into some social history."

CM Magazine; Highly Recommended - Ruth Latta

2018-06-25
A 12-year-old French-Canadian girl learns to feel differently about her family's economic status.Aline Sauriol is ashamed that she can't bring in pennies when the nuns at school are collecting for the poor. She's ashamed of the house she lives in, in one of the poorer areas of Ottawa, and is embarrassed that, in 1942, her father takes her to school in a horse-drawn conveyance instead of a motorcar. When her family rents out their upstairs to a family from London, she resents their wealth, their ease with English, their Protestantism. She's nasty to the one girl at school who seems worse off than herself, and she steals money from her mother and spends it on candy. Eventually Aline learns that others are not always as well off as they seem, and she comes to appreciate her family's love and security. Unfortunately, there is a mismatch between Aline and her audience. Her understanding of the world, her emotional responses, and her ultimate growth all seem to belong to a much younger girl, as if she were 8 instead of 12. As it is, she's barely likable. The wartime setting never feels important to the story or especially realistic. The story adheres to a white default, without mention of First Nations people or other racial minorities, although the portrayal of a French-Canadian family is a rare event in itself. Smoothly written but with a one-note protagonist and not much action. (Historical fiction. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews