Shine Like the Stars

Powerful, poetic and told from the viewpoint of the natural world is this reassuring presentation from in turn, the voices of planet Earth, the sun, the ocean, the seed, the sky, the moon and, the stars. Each component of the cosmos speaks directly to the reader in a kind of guided meditation that aims to help him or her understand and ‘cope with’ troubling feelings and situations be that relating to loneliness, loss, sadness, nervousness, frustration, fearfulness or insignificance.

In his evocative and awe inspiring scenes of children and adults together experiencing the great outdoors Harry Woodgate captures the rhythms, patterns, cycles and the very essence of being spoken of in the text. His use of light suggests the possibility of transcendence and this possibility is reiterated in the final explanatory pages that bring together science and practical actions.

This is for me both a deeply philosophical book and a comforting cuddle of a book. It deserves to be on the shelves of every family where there’s a young child and in all foundation stage and KS1 classroom collections. However, in the classroom, it’s a book to be used with sensitivity: there’s a fine line between using and abusing literature.