Glow

by Ruth Forman, Geneva Bowers (Illustrator)

A joyfully poetic board book that delivers an ode to the beautiful light of African American boys.I shine night too smooth brown glow skin This simple, playful, and elegant board book stars a young boy who joyfully celebrates his dark skin with a bright moon at the end of a perfect day.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Poetry, African American, Storytime, Family, Fiction

26 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 4, 2021

Reviews

[Che · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations. Storyline needs more.

[Speckadust · Rating 5 out of 5]

Glow is a warm, tight embrace, an ultimate expression of unconditional love for Black boys manifested through a thoughtful curation of beautiful poetic words and vibrant, inviting illustrations. As a devoted fan of Ruth Forman's beautiful writing (and a new fan of Geneva Bowers' art), I am ALWAY in awe of her sacred devotion to beauty, love, and justice. Glows humanizes and centers Black boyhood in the midst of a world plagued with anti-Blackness, attempting to rob Black children of their childhoods and humanity. I would HIGHLY recommend this book to EVERYONE (adult, youth, and child)!!! And if you haven't yet read her book celebrating Black girl magic and beauty, please don't forget to check out Curls! 🖤🖤🖤

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Glow

I Picked Up This Book Because: I’m a fan of the illustrator

Media Type: Boardbook
Source: CC Public Library
Dates Read: 3/4/22
Stars: 4 Stars

The Story:

I checked this book out from the library because I recently discovered the illustrator's art online and when she mentioned working on books I of course looked her up immediately. The art is beyond beautiful. The story, maybe it was supposed to be poetry, didn’t really work for me but would be good practice for a young one learning their words.

The Random Thoughts:



Challenges:

Birth and Beyond Reading Challenge - Picture Book: G

[Elizabeth]

Ruth Forman's One was one of Betsy Bird's Great Board Books of 2023, and when I requested a copy from the library, I also requested copies of her other board books.

While Forman's other books are mostly if not entirely filled with Black girls, this one follows 2 Black boys heading home at sunset, and then we follow just 1 of them through bath and bedtime.

The sky truly does grow increasingly dark as we move through the outdoor pages, and these are probably the best illustrations I've seen in Forman's books (shout-out to illustrator Geneva Bowers).

The text is the same fragmented poetry style of Forman's other books, which I don't love, but some of it is nice: "window opens. night stars. / full moon glides in / I shine night too / smooth brown glow skin"

[Tod Ewing · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just purchased and read Glow by Ruth Forman and I found it left me with a smile and a light peaceful feeling. Upon reflection it is because I so rarely see black boys portrayed as just being boys and boys that can be happy and joyful beings, full of life and love. That is what it felt like to me. I can picture the smile on the face of young black boys and girls experiencing this book. My wish is that it will help them see heaven in their own faces and the faces of their friends. Keep these books coming Ruth. We need them!!

[Shonda Buchanan · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 2-year-old grandson loves this picture book SO much because he identifies with the main character through the words he says and by the magical depiction of the main character's life. I love this book in so many ways too because the combination of words and images gives my grandson (and will give my second grandson) a sense of how he (they both) can see himself as the character, a young beautiful Black boy in a sweet moment in his life, and a boy who finds the magic in the bubbles, the moon and the night. Black boys need these sweet, calm, magical moments in their lives because of how society portrays them in other ways. Buy this book for your Black boys, white boys, Asian boys, Hispanic boys, all boys of other races and ethnicities so they can all experience this sense of safety as boys. LOVE it!

[Nicole M. Hewitt]

This review and many more can be found on my blog: Feed Your Fiction Addiction

I wanted to feature a book that celebrates the beauty of being Black for Juneteenth, and this book does exactly that. It’s incredibly simple and sweet, told in the voice of a very young child who is just starting to understand the world. With gorgeously vivid illustrations, this book will help any Black boy see himself as something just as precious and beautiful as the moon that glows in the sky! It would be a wonderful gift for anyone with a very young child.

***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher for review purposes. As always, all opinions are my own and no compensation was given.***

[Nile Rowe · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Glow" by Ruth Forman is a beautifully illustrated board book for kids just entering the world of literature. The book is mostly phrased in a poetic structure, including alliteration, metaphors, imagery, and other forms of figurative language on almost every page. One critique I do have is that most phrases are constructed unconventionally, making it a bit more challenging for the reader or audience to relay the story in a way that makes sense. However, the underlying message of empowerment for young Black boys supported by the striking illustrations by Geneva Bowers make up for the deficit in sentence structure. Although the audience may not completely understand every sentence, they may understand the intention behind each word.

[Mort's Kids · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book that (subtly but forcefully) celebrates a boy's beautiful dark skin and his family's love. What's not to love?

A lot, it turns out. The narration doesn't follow grammatical conventions (which is fine) but it doesn't rhyme nor is it terribly poetic. So it's just a bit awkward in both pace and flow. The art is solid but it's nothing revelatory; it can't save a good idea of a story that's poorly executed.

[Kelli Koeppen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Illustrations are beautiful and captivating. The words and story line leave a lot to be desired. I was not a fan of the word bundles approach; I prefer sentences and complete thoughts to get the point across. If we are looking to board books to be the first li e of defense for literacy, shouldn’t complete ideas at least be expressed?

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A couple of boys come in from playing at the end of the day, they enjoy the evening, take a bath and "shine" in the moonlight.

A truly beautiful board book. The illustrations are soft and expressive. A nice book for calming down before bed.

Cross posted to http://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com

[Dina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am always looking for books that would be good additions to our Pre-K section in the library, and this is a good fit. Simple text, beautiful illustrations and poetic verse creates a well-done book! Two thumbs up for this book!

[GabrielaC · Rating 5 out of 5]

GLOW written by Ruth Forman and illustrated by Geneva Bowers. I rate this a 5/5. I really like the art in this book. This book is like a rhyme. When I read it it feels like I'm singing a little song. Short summary it's about a little boy's day and how it goes.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes, the text is super sparse (more like a poem), but the joyfulness of the Black representation more than makes up for the less impressive narrative.

[Hanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book about a Black boy - simply and sparse text, incredible illustrations. Set in summer.

[KaitandMaddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustration and the overall story are both 5 stars. Poetry is less my thing, though, but I loved everything else.

[Kaitlyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

The illustrations are beautiful, but I had a hard time getting through the very choppy words on each page.

[Pinky · Rating 4 out of 5]

After a long day of play it's time for a little boy to get ready to glow to bed.

[Syntha Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated board book

[Memory Toast · Rating 4 out of 5]

Illustrations are gorgeous and the poetry compliments, but doesn't shine (pardon the pun :P) quite as much.

[Panda Incognito · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations are radiant, but the words on each page are choppy and disconnected.

[Em · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gorgeous illustrations, text is very hard to read smoothly

[Faloni © · Rating 5 out of 5]

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[Esme · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lovely illustrations and a good message, but the poetical text is very clunky and awkward.

[Vanessa Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations and an empowering story

[Kelsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

The illustrations are gorgeous, but the text feels awkward and stilted.

[Jocelin · Rating 2 out of 5]

The sentiment beyond this book is heartwarming. The execution of flow of the book was not that great. The illustrations are still sublime.

[Ms. Nigeria Nigeria Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again, great illustration.

[Shanita Mason · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book leaves much to be desired. The illustrations are beautiful but the text is choppy and hard to follow.

[Patricia Q · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lovely illustrations but the wording could have been better. Not so choppy.