Picture book review: 'Born to Sparkle' is a delightful book that teaches kids the power of hard work to achieve their dreams

As soon as I opened my latest package of books to review, my four-year-old was immediately drawn to Born to Sparkle: A Story About Achieving Your Dreams. I knew she would be. After all, there are sparkles on the cover of the book! And what little kid isn't drawn to sparkles?! But Born to Sparkle is much, much more about the exterior sparkles (although they are really cool) on the book's cover.

One of the qualities I hope all my children learn is the power of hard work. While I absolutely believe that people can achieve their dreams, I've been worried lately about the emphasis placed on dreaming and lack of emphasis placed on the actual hard work to achieve those dreams. Several years ago, I even made up a song about never giving up that I sang (and continue to sing) to my young children whenever chores, school, athletics, and just life got hard. Born to Sparkle is just the kind of book I want my kids to learn from since it teaches that hard work and dreams go hand in hand.

But, imagine my surprise when, after finishing the book, I turned to the author's bio and realized she has Down Syndrome. I had only vaguely heard of Megan Bomgaars before but, after reading this book, I picked it back up and read it again.

I would have read it again anyway, because my other daughter had come in to the room, once she realized I was reading, and asked me to re-read the books her siblings had just heard. Books have power, people!

Born to Sparkle mentions several different professions kids can be interested in, like firefighters, dancers, and doctors. It shows fun pictures of those professions and goes on to explain that, in order to make those dreams come true, readers need to work hard to develop skills.

Thank you, Bomgaars, for explaining this concept! HARD WORK is absolutely essential in life, and I love love that this book doesn't shy away from that concept, but rather teaches and embraces it. Kids, if you work hard you can achieve your dreams!

Now, before I end this review, illustrator Pete Olczyk needs to be acknowledged as the amazing illustrator who brought Bomgaars's book to life. His illustrations are full of color and whimsy that complement the book perfectly.  

Born to Sparkle can help fill a niche in every family's picture book library and I am so glad I was able to introduce this book to my children. Thank you, Bomgaars and Olczyk, for showing to the world that everyone can achieve their goals, they just need to not limit themselves.

Book Breakdown:

32 pages with full-color illustrations

Best for ages: 3-10

Educational factor: Low; but life skills factor is high!

Moral content: I loved the moral of hard work taught in this picture book