Nine year old Ryan Hart may have “a name that a lot of boys have” and she’s not so excited about the new (old) house that she and her family are moving into, but Ryan is a girl who knows how to make the best of the situation and find some joy wherever she goes. Ways to Make Sunshine is acclaimed YA author Renee Watson’s “own version of Ramona Quimby, one starring a Black girl and her family.” Ryan is a little more bland and blame-shifting than Ramona, but not too bratty so as to make the book unendurable. (I don’t like bratty protagonists like Eloise and Judy Moody. I do like childlike characters like Ramona and Clementine who err out of innocence and curiosity rather than pure selfishness.)

The scenes in the book are set up to showcase the particular joys and problems of growing up Black, but the story should be enjoyable for all kids, person of color or not. And Ryan is growing up in Portland, Oregon, just like Ramona Quimby, only about 50+ years later. It’s fun to see a different view of essentially the same setting.

At one point in the ARC I read, Ryan’s dad criticizes Ryan’s mixed race friend for living in a “white” neighborhood, a criticism that I thought was jarring and unnecessary. Maybe that minor bobble will get edited out of the final version. Otherwise, there’s a lot of wisdom in the book coming from Ryan’s parents and extended family, and even Ryan herself learns a few things over the course of the story and drops a few nuggets of wisdom.

Grandma turns me around to face her. ‘Baby girl, you are beautiful. Not just your hair or your clothes. But who you are. Your kindness makes you beautiful and the way you’re always willing to offer help makes you beautiful,’ Grandma tells me. ‘And how creative you are with your recipes. That’s what makes you a beautiful girl.’ Grandma turns me back to face the mirror. We both look into the glass, staring at my brown skin, my round face, my long straight hair. ‘How you wear your hair is your choice and no matter what you choose, it’s not going to determine if you’re beautiful or not. The only thing that will determine that is how you treat others. If you are mean to people, if you act ugly toward them, that’s what takes your beauty away.’

Ways to Make Sunshine, p. 59

Children ages seven to ten who enjoy Beverly Cleary, Carolyn Haywood, and Sara Pennypacker will now have a new series to read with a slightly different point of view. I’m adding this one to my library, and I recommend it. Coming April 28, 2020.