In the summer before fifth grade, Ryan Hart continues to grow through changes and challenges, such as waiting for a new baby sister to be born, a summer camp trip, and more. - (Baker & Taylor)
Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Author Award winner Renée Watson continues her charming young middle grade series starring Ryan Hart, a girl who is pure spirit and sunshine.
Ryan Hart loves her family and friends. She's looking forward to summer vacation, spending time with loved ones, and her first trip to sleepaway camp! But when an unexpected camper shows up, Ryan finds it's hard to share your best friend and harder to be a friend to someone who isn't a good friend to you. She's also waiting for her new sister to be born -- and hoping the baby doesn't ruin everything. The Hart family is experiencing a lot of changes, and Ryan needs to grow her patience in many ways, find ways to share the love, meet new challenges, and grow into the leader her mom and dad named her to be. This summer and the start of fifth grade just might give Ryan the chance to show how she grows and glows!
Acclaim for Ways to Make Sunshine:
A New York Times Best Children's Book of the Year | A Parents Magazine Best Book of the Year | A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year | A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year | A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year | A WORLD Magazine Best Book of the Year | An Amazon Best Book of the Year
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McMillan Palgrave)
Renée Watson is a New York Times bestselling author. Her novel, Piecing Me Together, received a Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Award. Her books include Ways to Make Sunshine, Ways to Grow Love, Some Places More Than Others, This Side of Home, What Momma Left Me, Betty Before X, cowritten with Ilyasah Shabazz, Watch Us Rise, cowritten with Ellen Hagan, and Love Is a Revolution, as well as two acclaimed picture books: A Place Where Hurricanes Happen and Harlem's Little Blackbird, which was nominated for an NAACP Image Award. Renée splits her time between Portland, Oregon and New York City.
www.reneewatson.net; @reneewauthor (Twitter)
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McMillan Palgrave)
Booklist Reviews
*Starred Review* Ryan Hart returns in this charming sequel to Ways to Make Sunshine (2020), which begins the summer before she starts fifth grade. Many of her favorite summer activities, like going to the library with her mother and riding rides at the amusement park as a family, are on hold, or at least modified, because Mrs. Hart is pregnant and on bed rest. On the upside, Ryan is finally old enough to attend overnight church camp with her brother and best friends, Kiki and Amanda, though Ryan is not pleased to learn that Amanda's mean friend Red will be sharing their cabin. Prank wars and team-building exercises unfold alongside bible study, positively portraying the important role faith communities hold in many children's lives. Ryan feels young for a fifth grader, due largely to the fact that she's the baby of her family—for most of the story anyway. She nonetheless flexes her independence by cooking for her family and helping to prepare for the new baby's arrival. Ryan's grandmother also lends them a hand, and one particularly tender scene shows Ryan asking for advice as her grandmother braids her hair before bed. These realistic snapshots of love in action are peppered with funny mishaps and small mistakes, all of which add up to an uplifting, reassuring read.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Ways to Make Sunshine was released to great acclaim, and Watson's virtual author tour will act like Miracle Gro on her sizeable fan base. Grades 3-6. Copyright 2021 Booklist Reviews.