Shine: A Story About Saying Goodbye

by Trace Balla

A moving picture book to share with young children, and a catalyst for discussing big questions. A story for the very young about loss and the everlasting power of love.

24 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2015

About the author

Trace Balla is often found sketching in nature, riding her bike, dancing, and growing vegies in her garden in central Victoria. She loves to illustrate and write songs and stories, and inspire others in their creativity and care for the planet. Her background is in illustration, community arts, art therapy, animation, and writing songs and stories, and she enjoys visiting schools and festivals to talk about her work.

Reviews

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

The concept behind this book is lovely - we all come from the stars, we all go back to the stars”, but the execution was a little simplistic and confusing. The stars were horses, the horses were stars? But it had such a sweet thought with an ocean of love made from their tears, and looking up to see our loved ones in the stars, that I’ll give the details a pass.

[Sarichie Pavoss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Has made me cry every time. Tonight I told the kids I had hay fever and was so glad it finished when it did so I could run out of their room and cry in the lounge room lol. Beautifully written ♥

[Jaq · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful celebration of life and death of loved ones. Highly recommended.

[Karen O'Brien-Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many of us have experienced grief and have found personal ways of coping; but how does a child cope with the death of their Father, their Daddy. If we are lucky we are adults when we face this loss, but what thoughts are in the mind of a child whose daddy dies.

Author Trace Balla faced a time of great sorrow for her family with the unexpected passing of her brother in law. Trace used her talents as a writer to offer comfort to her sister and her children in the best way she knew. The dedication in the book says “Dedicated to Summer, Sachin and Mandy in loving memory of Dean”.

Trace and Mandy’s Granny Hitchcock used to say “We all come from the stars, we all go back to the stars” and Trace used this saying to tell a simple story of a young horse who was kind and bright named Shine. Shine lived on a beautiful planet among the stars and one day when he was running with his friends, he saw footsteps in the sand that belonged to Glitter, the loveliest horse he had ever seen. They fell in love, and their love caused two little stars to join their hearts and so their family was formed. But one day Shine, although he did not want to go, told Glitter and the children he loved them and went back to his own star.

I think this is a perfect children’s story which takes the grieving child, or adult, on a beautiful journey through love, life and death. It is simply written which adds to the poignancy of the story, but doesn’t talk down to the reader/listener. The illustrations are naïve and joyous, complimenting the written word as a good illustration should; it is no surprise the book was written and illustrated by the same person. I can imagine some children asking more questions about “why” which would be a good thing, assisting them to open up and talk about being sad.
Because of the language, the bright and happy illustrations and the positive comforting message that someone who loves you never really leaves you, Shine is truly a gem.

The last word belongs to Mandy Balla-Kellett who says of her sister’s gift: “My sister Trace wrote Shine for my children, Summer and Sachin soon after their father’s death. In the face of a terrible tragedy and a loss so enormous it seemed we could barely breathe, the story of Shine was a moment of peace and beauty that helped a little in explaining the inexplicable. It is a story based on the great love my husband and I shared with each other and for our children, a story of hope that inspired me to carry on, and a story of family – of my children and me as well as my sister and the compassion she was able to show us through her words and pictures. I will be forever grateful to her for creating such a beautiful gift, which she and I hope others may gain some comfort from.”

This review is published on Starts at 60 at this link http://bit.ly/1GHiyxg.