Our local homeschool support group runs five age-based book club meetings each month (teens meet weekly), and I lead the Juniors which roughly covers ages 8-10 (3rd-5th grade). Some of the older 5th graders have moved up to the middle school group, but most of them have remained in Juniors for this year so we have a wide range of interests and reading abilities within the group. We’ve read a variety of books over the years, and this month’s book was a fun one to add to the list.

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Ways to Make Sunshine is the first book in a new series targeting young middle grade readers. The book is marketed for grades 4 – 6, but I think it’s more appropriate for grades 3 – 5, so it met our needs perfectly. The author, Renee Watson, has written a variety of books for younger and older children, but this is the first one I’ve seen for this age group.

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.

The children enjoyed this book, and I can see why they were into it. It has just the right combination of light kid fun balanced with weightier real-life issues to keep readers interested in Ryan Hart’s life. There was more sass than I would have preferred, but I know kids in this age group are old enough to distinguish between what a character may say (or the way she may say it) and what’s acceptable in their home. I’ve found that things like this don’t translate from book to reality in my home the way they do from television – just another reason why I love books so much.

The significance of the characters’ names and their meaning are introduced right in the beginning of the book when Ryan finds herself explaining, “I do not have a boy’s name. I have my name. My name is Ryan and Ryan means ‘king’ and that means I am a leader.” And throughout the story, the parents often remind their children to, “be who we named you to be.”

Icebreaker: The week before the meeting, I emailed out an exercise called The Story of My Name for the kids to complete prior to our discussion. One of the moms in our group created it, and it was the perfect icebreaker for our session. We kicked off the meeting with everyone, including me, sharing what they found out about their names. Ironically, we had two girls named Chloe and two named Sarai, so it was fun to hear how their parents chose their names. The most unique story came from twin sisters Lena and Ruby who were named after Lena Horne and Ruby Dee – remarkable women who shared a close friendship.

Following the naming conversation, we watched a clip of this interview [2:38 – 7:05] with the author. In this section, Watson tells us the meaning of her name and recites a poem she wrote about herself before giving a little insight into her character, Ryan.

Following the video, we launched into our main discussion time using these questions to guide the conversation:

• Ryan says, “Dad is always telling me our people come from royalty, that my ancestors lived in Africa and were kings and queens and inventors and hard workers. Mom tells me their strength is running through my veins.” Do you know the names of any African royals? [The children named Cleopatra and Mansa Musa. I shared with them that royal families still exist in some parts of Africa today.]
• Ryan’s dad always tells her to “be who we named you to be.” What does he mean?
• How does Ryan react when she loses the race against Brandon? What does that tell us about her character?
• Ryan has “adventurous taste buds,” but her brother Brandon does not. What about you? Are you an adventurous eater, or do you tend to play it safe? What are some of your favorite foods? What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream?
• Why does Ryan’s family have to move, and how does she feel about it?
• Have you ever moved to a new city or a different house? How did you feel?
• Ryan’s mom comforts her by saying, “It’s okay to be sad. Change is scary.” Do you think this is true? Why or why not?
• Her mom also says, “Ryan, we’ll all still be together. This is just a house. We are the ones who make it home. Home is wherever we go.” How can she say that? What does make a home a home?
• Diving birds are Ryan’s favorites. Does anyone know what diving birds are? Here’s a video of loons and grebes [Show brief video of diving birds for reference]
• How does Ryan feel about her new house? How can you tell?
• How does this book compare to Clubhouse Mysteries? Do you see any similarities? [There was a mystery, the kids had special treasures]
• What treasures did Ryan find in the cookie canister in her closet? Have you ever found anything you deem a treasure? Tell us about it.
• When Ryan’s grandma comes over to do her hair she says, “Child, there is no mistaking it. You are a Black girl and you have Black hair.” What do you think she means?

Hair is an important theme in this book, and that makes sense because it’s a big deal in the African American community. This is a great example of why it’s so important for children to have books as mirrors to reflect their culture and experiences. We took some time to talk about what it means to have “black hair,” how we get to choose the way we think and speak about it, and how versatile it can be. We then watched this short film where a father is intimidated by all his daughter’s thick curly hair until he embraces the process and tenderly styles her hair as an act of love.

Following the film, we continued our discussion of hair and beauty standards:

Question: Ryan thinks she looks prettier when her hair is straight, but her grandma corrects her because that’s not true. What does her grandma say makes her beautiful?

“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…And how creative you are with your recipes. That’s what makes you a beautiful girl…How you wear your hair is your chioce 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, Ryan’s grandmother in Chapter 8 “Afro Puffs”

After exploring what Ryan’s grandmother said, we talked about the meaning of these Bible verses. I was pleased to hear that most of the girls were at least familiar with these verses and believe them. We’re doing something right around here!

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

Proverbs 31:30, NIV

But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

1 Samuel 16:7, KJV

After spending all of that (wonderful) time on hair, we wrapped up with these questions:

• What happened to Ryan when she tried to say her Easter speech? Why do you think that happened? Ryan felt defeated. Has anything like that ever happened to you? Have you ever felt defeated? What did you do?
• When Ryan agreed with Kiki that the excellent singer Hannah “thinks she’s all that,” she said, “The words felt strange coming out of me. Like when I taste something I don’t like but eat in anyway.” What did she mean, and why do you think she felt that way?
• When Ryan made Ray’s wings extra, extra, extra hot, she apologized, but she wasn’t remorseful. What do you think about that?
• If you were in a talent show, what talent would you showcase?
• Ryan wants to be on the Rose Festival Court when she’s in high school. She wants to meet the mayor and tell him her idea for the community. What was her idea? [She thinks the city should serve delicious gourmet meals to people who are homeless instead of “not-that-hot soup and rock-hard bread.”] What would you like to change or do in your community?

Our book club meetings are usually about an hour long, but this one was 75 minutes because we were having such a good time! Before closing out the meeting, I announced next month’s book and told the children to expect a package from me soon.

Before the pandemic, we always met in person and every meeting included an activity and something to take home, so I’ve been mailing items to their homes after each meeting to help keep them excited about book club with tangible items that remind them of the books. For this month, each child received a tin of Royal Dansk Danish Butter Cookies in the mail. This was significant because, in the book, Ryan finds this type of canister in the top of her closet when her family moves into a new home. The canister contains someone’s special “treasures” so I included a note reminding the kids to keep the tin for their treasures once the cookies are all gone. Yum!

Separately, the children also received a book charm in the mail to add to their necklace chains. They receive a charm each month that they participate in the book club meeting, and they’re always excited to add to their collection.

If you enjoyed these book club lesson plans, you may enjoy reading about some of our other book club meetings:

• Clubhouse Mysteries: The Buried Bones Mystery by Sharon M. Draper
• The Last Last-Day-of-Summer by Lamar Giles
• The Toothpaste Millionaire by Jean Merrill
• Justin and the Best Biscuits in the World by Mildred Pitts Walter
• Ansley’s Big Bake Off by Kaityln, Olivia, and Camryn Pitts