Sunny Parker is Here to Stay

Sunny Parker is Here to Stay, by Margaret Finnegan, (Apr. 2024, Atheneum Books for Young Readers), $17.99, ISBN: 9781665930086

Ages 8-12

Sunny Parker is a kid with a sunny disposition: she goes on “Neighbor Favor” walks with her neighbor, Mrs. Garcia; she helps out her other neighbors at the Del Mar Garden Apartments, and she helps her widowed dad – the manager of the apartments – by doing smaller tasks like emptying out the lint traps in the laundry room, taking out the trash, and sweeping in front of the building. She never likes to let on when she’s feeling down, but when the wealthier neighbors protest the city’s proposal to build affordable housing in the area, Sunny realizes that prejudice and bigotry exist behind smiles. Further exacerbated by her father’s insistence that she not makes waves, Sunny begins noticing more and more unfair things that too many people are quiet about: that her friend Izzy has to work a food service job while her friends go abroad for the summer; that someone in their apartment complex is being abused; that her best friend feels the pressure to excel because of her skin color. As the city’s public hearing draws closer, Sunny finds it harder to keep silent and has to decide whether or not making waves adds to the injustice she sees. Finnegan excels at creating characters with a strong sense of right and wrong: in We Can Be Heroes, characters Hank and Maisie take it upon themselves to rescue a dog they’re worried about; in Susie B. Won’t Back Down, the titular character runs for a seat on the student council and learns that history’s heroes have some very human failings. Here, Finnegan deftly brings societal issues to middle graders in a way they will recognize and understand: domestic violence; institutional racism, income disparity; NIMBYism, and income disparity are all presented in ways that seek to educate and inform, while empowering readers to take action. Speaking through Sunny, Finnegan asks her readers, “HOw can YOU help?” She uses humor and sensitivity to address each topic, and provides Sunny as a reader insert; a guide through which kids can develop their own social action muscles. With Civic Awareness Month coming in September, Sunny Parker is Here to Stay is a solid display choice and an excellent book club choice. There is a free curriculum guide for download from the author’s webpage.