Review - Lucy's Light

Lucy's Light (Once Upon a Garden)
by Jo Rooks
Date: 2019
Publisher: Magination Press
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: NetGalley

Lucy is a lightning bug and the most talented flyer in the squad. There's just one problem: she doesn't light up! When it's time to learn night flying, Lucy is anxious. She tries everything to get her light to shine but nothing works. Lucy is about to give up when her friends are captured by a nasty toad and his gang, who hatched a plan to brighten up their bog. Does Lucy have what it takes to save her friends? Or is she just an "ordinary" bug after all? A sweet story which shines a light on inner confidence, self-acceptance, and courage. Lucy learns that doing a good deed will always make you shine bright!

(synopsis from Goodreads)

This is the second book in the Once Upon a Garden series I've read, the first being Sophie's Shell. Technically, Lucy's Light would come first chronologically, but you really don't need to read them in any specific order.

Given how much I enjoyed Sophie's Shell, I was surprised to find that Lucy's Light is nowhere near as good. The editing needs some work (the punctuation is especially bad) and the overall story doesn't really appeal to me. I suppose it's about using your strengths, whatever those might be, even if they're different from the strengths of others.

The illustrations are still really cute, and the toad, frog, and newt villains are formidable without being too scary. The pictures are definitely the strength of this book.

Overall, I was a little bit disappointed. Lucy's Light is still a decent picture book, but it's nowhere near as good as Sophie's Shell.

Thank you to NetGalley and Magination Press for providing a digital ARC.

Premise: 3/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 2/5
Illustrations: 4/5
Originality: 3/5

Enjoyment: 3/5

Overall: 3 out of 5