Synopses & Reviews
Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Author Award winner Ren e Watson continues her charming young middle grade series starring Ryan Hart, a girl who is pure spirit and sunshine.
Ryan Hart is caught in the middle. She' has an older brother and a baby sister and she's in a friendship tug-of-war with KiKi and Amanda who are each wanting to be her best best friend. With all that's going on, Ryan still looks for a way to see the bright side of things. But it's hard to be cheery when her brother, Ray, pulls the ultimate prank and ruins her latest baking project for Grandma's birthday. And who can think about being kind to a classmate who is relentless with his teasing?
Ryan is determined not to let anything ruin her joy. She calls a truce with her brother (for now) and redeems herself at the Christmas pageant, closing the program by saying her speech with no mistakes. She enjoys all the fall and winter happenings that make Portland the perfect setting for her to collect more memories and items for her keepsake box.
With more change and more lessons learned, book three of the Ryan Hart series has even more humor, more love, and more adventure.
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
Review
“A lovely cast of characters, delightfully relatable dilemmas and solutions, and a character with an authentic voice. A tale of family and friendship that exudes pure joy.” Kirkus Reviews
About the Author
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 the Ryan Hart series, 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 acclaimed picture books: The 1619 Project: Born on the Water, written with Nikole Hannah-Jones, 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)