For one Armenian child, birthdays are a time for decorating the house with bunches of rose and mint and sumac, for eating beef dumplings with garlic yoghurt, and for baking cakes with family and friends. But birthdays are also a time for telling stories – stories of ancestors and homelands, of births and new beginnings, and of the land their family now calls home. For stories make up who we are, and the more stories that are told, the brighter this little child shines. A magical tale about finding yourself in the stories of your ancestors and keeping their memories alive.
Amnesty International endorses this book as it shows how the treasures of ancestors can live on for a child of refugees.
The Guardian, Best Children’s Books of the Month October 2024
Inclusive Books for Children Awards Longlist 2025
Children’s Book Council Hot Off the Press October 2024
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Kamee is a queer, feminist interdisciplinary artist, producer, and storyteller, born into an Armenian family displaced from the SWANA region. She lives on the traditional territories of the Anishinabewaki, Huron-Wendat, and Haudenosaunee, peoples, also known as Prince Edward County, Ontario.
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Lusine graduated from the Yerevan Academy of Fine Arts in Armenia and the Marseille Mediterranean College of Fine Arts and Design. She strives to add a touch of magic to all her illustrations for children.
“On her birthday, an Armenian child decorates her home with rose, mint and sumac, smells dumplings cooking, and remembers her ancestors’ journeys, taken “so that I could be born / very far from home / in a room full of their spirits”. A colourful, poignant picture book about treasuring the stories of those who came before.”
- The Guardian, Children’s and teens roundup – the best new picture books and novels
“An Armenian child of refugees muses on ancestral stories as vehicles of connection and identity in this moving picture book.”
- Foreword Reviews, STARRED
“The Brighter I Shine is possibly the first picturebook I’ve encountered that centres specifically on Armenian heritage and culture, as a young girl uses her birthday as an opportunity to reflect on her family and the ancestors that came before her. A tender picturebook which also addresses the role that storytelling plays in keeping histories alive.”
— Phoebe Demeger, Centre for Literacy in Primary Education Librarian
“At the risk of sounding like a broken record, this is yet another brilliant example of Lantana covering themes which you would be hard pressed to find in many other children’s books. Kamee Abrahamian has drawn on her own life experiences to be able to explain to children the importance of remembering those who have come before you and keeping memories alive.”
— Spy Readers
"This tenderhearted picture book follows a young child of the Armenian diaspora as they learn about their heritage and traditions on the day of their birthday. The celebration that unfolds teaches them an important lesson in survival and resilience: Despite displacement in war, despite loss and fear, home is where our stories are told."
— Catherine Hernandez, author and screenwriter of Scarborough the book and film
“The book is a wonderful one to read as a family and also is an excellent resource in a school setting. It creates opportunities to talk about themes of diversity, self-expression, and the importance of knowing one’s roots—lessons that align beautifully with the values of inclusivity and respect for heritage. This message is both timely and timeless. The illustrations are absolutely mesmerising. Every page is filled with memories, stars, and images of loved ones that make you feel warm and hopeful.”
— Inclusive Children’s Books
“This is a story that speaks of how important it is for our own sense of identity to keep alive the family stories we grow up with - and speaks to us about our roots and how we must tend them throughout our lives.”
— The Letterpress Project
“In this beautifully told recognition of how past – and future – ancestors and the stories about them are a central part of any culture, Kamee Abrahamian shows her own storytelling powers through a simple account of everyday experience interlaced with the cadences of lyrical passages reflecting how the spirits of the ancestors are ever present. Lusing Ghukasyan echoes these different elements with bright, almost stylised, images of the girl’s home with its many family portraits on the walls, contrasted with more reflective blues, greens and purples, studded with stars or the bright reds of flowers from the ancestral homelands.This is a beautifully engaging story which may have resonance for readers from 6 years upwards, but also for adults sharing the book with them, underlining the value and importance of drawing strength from stories of any family’s history.”
– Just Imagine
“Vasco’s words and Palomino’s dazzling illustrations, full of movement and color, create a story of blooming. Girls become women; letters become words; a pueblo becomes literate. It’s a powerful read for parents and children whose upbringings are radically different.”
- The New York Times