Ways to Make Sunshine
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Average rating4
15
Ratings2
Average rating4
From Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Author Award winner Renée Watson comes the first book in a young middle grade series about Ryan Hart, a girl who is pure spirit, kindness, and sunshine. Ryan Hart has a lot on her mind--school, self-image, and especially family. Her dad finally has a new job, but money is tight. That means some changes, like selling their second car and moving into a new (old) house. But Ryan is a girl who knows how to make sunshine out of setbacks. As her brother says when he raps about her, she's got the talent that matters most: it's a talent that can't be seen, she's nice, not mean! Ryan is all about trying to see the best in people, to be a good daughter, a good sister, a good friend. But even if her life isn't everything she would wish for, when her big brother is infuriating, her parents don't quite understand, and the unexpected happens, she always finds a way forward, with grace and wit. And plenty of sunshine. Acclaimed author Renée Watson writes her own version of Ramona Quimby, one starring a Black girl and her family, in this start to a charming new series.
Featured Series
2 primary booksRyan Hart is a 2-book series with 2 primary works first released in 2020 with contributions by Renée Watson.
Reviews with the most likes.
“If we can't go to the parade,
let's have one here.”
I saw this quote from Ways to Make Sunshine today, and I had to read this book.
Ryan Hart is the perfect character in the perfect story for these unsettling times. Ryan's family is moving to a smaller house. Ryan's dad, who had lost his job, has just accepted a new job, but the new job is for less money. Ryan and her brother, Ray, have frequent, petty squabbles. Sometimes Ryan and her friends have difficulties. Should Ryan obey her mother and keep her new, fancy hairdo dry or should she take on a rival for her friend's affections and get her hair wet?
These are the sort of issues Ryan and her family face in this little children's book, the sort of ordinary troubles families face everywhere every day. Ryan's parents are the wonderfully reassuring parents we all wish we had. They continually remind their children how much they love them, and they encourage their children to push themselves to be better than they are, and they never crush them with their discipline or their expectations.
And Ryan, surrounded by that ring of love from her parents and supportive friends, does become better than she was, finding a way to make sunshine in the rain, rising up to become a leader.
It's delightfully refreshing to spend time with these characters today.
