Review - Flash and Gleam

Flash and Gleam: Light in Our World
by Sue Fliess
illustrated by Khoa Le
Date: 2020
Publisher: Millbrook Press
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book non-fiction
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: NetGalley

The soft glow of a candle, the blink of a firefly, a burst of fireworks--light is everywhere in our world! Rhyming text and luminous illustrations follow four children as they experience many different forms of light.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

Flash and Gleam focuses on the many types of light that light up our world. From the sun to lightning, auroras to fireworks, each kind of light is luminously illustrated. A very simple rhyming text accompanies the pictures.

I really enjoyed the illustrations here. They're absolutely lovely. However, I think the description on the inside jacket of the book does it a disservice, since it isn't entirely accurate. This book is supposed to follow "a diverse group of kids", but they're only "diverse" in a cultural sense. All four able-bodied children are in heterosexual nuclear family units. Today, I think many readers are expecting a little more diversity in other areas, especially when a book advertises itself as "diverse".

There are a couple of pages of scientific facts at the end, which are interesting to read and tie into the various forms of light that are depicted in the illustrations in the main part of the book. My only quibble there is that the book refers to "the dark side" of the moon as the part that's in shadow during a quarter moon (whereas "the dark side" is usually how we refer to the part that's facing away from Earth that we can't see). This could potentially cause some confusion; it might need to be worded differently.

Definitely check this one out for the illustrations, though. I'd like to see what else Khoa Le has illustrated; she has a very pleasant style.

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

Premise: 3/5
Meter: 4/5
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 4/5
Originality: 4/5

Enjoyment: 3/5

Overall: 3.43 out of 5