Shine: A Wordless Book about Love

In a wordless debut that begins with a Bible verse from the book of Matthew (“You are the light/ that gives light to the world”), Griffin explores, through a Christian lens, a single child’s potential to transform an entire community. As Mia, a smiling light-skinned girl in a yellow jacket, steps out of her cheery home and into a grayscale neighbourhood, she waves at others across the street. When they respond in kind, her radiance spreads, painting one person, then another in bright hues as they cross the street to join her, an effect shown in Bobbiesi’s sketchlike artwork as a vivid wash seeping into the grey. In confusing interstitials that interrupt the narrative, indoor scenes show the girl reading her Bible, doing chores, and praying, as well as spending devotional time with others who have crossed the street to her. An embittered adult who rejects Mia’s gift remains in a limited palette as the block brightens for others, suggesting that there is only one way to live a colourful life. A specific message unsubtly told.