Editor’s note: Harrisonburg Resident Lori Mier has published her first children’s book, MERIN And her Very Bright Star: A Story of Resiliency. Based on her story of losing loved ones as a child, the story touches on themes of connection, resilience, loss and community. We asked The Citizen’s student contributor, Latham Copeland, to read the book and write a review.
A book review by student contributor Latham Copeland
I think “MERIN And Her Very Bright STAR: A Story of Resiliency” will be a GREAT book for kids.
When I first saw the book, I wondered what resiliency was. When I read the book, I saw Merin going through a difficult time. This book and other books make me understand stuff a lot better.
I like this book because it is creative. The book was so cool!! I think the book was cool because I liked when Merin read the book in bed because I like to read a whole lot!!!
I like the illustrations because they show Merin with a giant pencil that she was holding like a spear — because who would expect to have a giant pencil? Pencils cannot grow!! The other illustrations are also great because they also showed funny parts.
I didn’t think I would like the book because I thought it might be boring because it might be too grown-up, but when I read the book it was super cool.
The book talked about resiliency.
I think everyone goes through difficult times, but resiliency, like Merin shows in the book, helps people feel better.
I realized that I felt sad, like Merin did, when my dog died and friends moved away. In the book, Merin took a class about going through difficult times. And she liked to look at a bright star in the sky to help her feel better.
Something I learned from the book is that Venus is called the evening star.
Whenever I feel sad, I go read for a while to help me feel a little bit better. My old dog Mr. Oliver died, but I remember him and I’m happy that we got a new dog, Penny. My friend stayed virtual and moved to a new house and school; I still miss him a lot. But I remember the good times when we chatted when we were waiting to go home from school before the pandemic. My other friend moved to Broadway, and I miss seeing him. But I remember the good times playing soccer with him.
Resiliency is really important because it helps people who go through difficult times. This book can help people learn more about resiliency and the illustrations are neat. And the words describe Merin’s life and her secrets and her hard work really well.
Good bye. I hope you like my book review and “MERIN And Her Very Bright STAR.”
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