Call Me Sunflower
Miriam Spitzer Franklin
- 272 Pages
- May 16, 2017
- ISBN: 9781510711792
- Trim Size: 5.5in x 8.25in x 0in
Description
Sunny Beringer hates her first name—her real first name—Sunflower. And she hates that her mom has suddenly left behind her dad and uprooted their family miles away from New Jersey to North Carolina just so she can pursue some fancy degree. Sunny has to live with a grandmother she barely knows, and she’s had to leave her beloved cat and all her friends behind. And no one else seems to think anything is wrong.
So she creates “Sunny Beringer’s Totally Awesome Plan for Romance”—a list of sure-fire ways to make her parents fall madly in love again, including:
Send Mom flowers from a “Secret Admirer” to make her dad jealous and make him regret letting them move so far away.
Make a playlist of his favorite love songs—the mushier the better—and make sure it’s always playing in the car.
Ask them about the good old days when they first fell in love.
But while working on a photo album guaranteed to make Mom change her mind and rush them right back home, Sunny discovers a photo—one that changes everything.
Sunny’s family, the people she thought she could trust most in the world, have been keeping an enormous secret from her. And she’ll have to reconcile her family’s past and present, or she’ll lose everything about their future.
So she creates “Sunny Beringer’s Totally Awesome Plan for Romance”—a list of sure-fire ways to make her parents fall madly in love again, including:
Send Mom flowers from a “Secret Admirer” to make her dad jealous and make him regret letting them move so far away.
Make a playlist of his favorite love songs—the mushier the better—and make sure it’s always playing in the car.
Ask them about the good old days when they first fell in love.
But while working on a photo album guaranteed to make Mom change her mind and rush them right back home, Sunny discovers a photo—one that changes everything.
Sunny’s family, the people she thought she could trust most in the world, have been keeping an enormous secret from her. And she’ll have to reconcile her family’s past and present, or she’ll lose everything about their future.
Authors
Miriam Spitzer Franklin has been sharing her love for reading and writing with students for years as an elementary and middle school teacher. She currently teaches language arts to middle school students. Miriam lives with her husband, two daughters, and two pampered cats in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Reviews
"Call Me Sunflower is one of those rare books that settles into your very core and stays with you long after you finish the last page. Sunny's story will captivate your heart, oftentimes break it, but ultimately heal it together with a warm hug filled with the promise of hope." —Brooks Benjamin, author of My Seventh-Grade Life in Tights
"Sunny's story is heartfelt and hopeful, and it's a poignant reminder that families don't have to be perfect to be full of love. —Gail Nall, author of Breaking the Ice and Out of Tune
"Readers will be both heartbroken and warmed by the way Sunny views the world and her attempts to change it. This is a story of love, family, resilience, and grief—themes that resonate with many. Sunny is a relatable heroine with a noble cause that readers won't soon forget." —Erin Entrada Kelly, author of Hello, Universe
"A beautifully told and at times poignant story about how difficult it can be for children to navigate their changing world. Franklin’s Sunflower is a lovable, creative character, and her attempts to reunite her parents, make new friendships, and form a bond with her grandmother will have readers glued to the page and heartened by the story’s themes of love and resilience." —Wendy McLeod MacKnight, author of It's a Mystery, Pig Face!
"A moving and realistic story . . . Sunflower shines with emotion, convincing dialogue, and relatable characters." —Atlanta Journal-Constitutional
"Although even preteens may shake their heads at the way Sunny refuses to accept a new reality . . . they’ll appreciate how she gradually discovers that she needs to deal with things the way they are and that even if circumstances change, she can still count on the people around her to come through for her. " —School Library Journal
"Sunny's story is heartfelt and hopeful, and it's a poignant reminder that families don't have to be perfect to be full of love. —Gail Nall, author of Breaking the Ice and Out of Tune
"Readers will be both heartbroken and warmed by the way Sunny views the world and her attempts to change it. This is a story of love, family, resilience, and grief—themes that resonate with many. Sunny is a relatable heroine with a noble cause that readers won't soon forget." —Erin Entrada Kelly, author of Hello, Universe
"A beautifully told and at times poignant story about how difficult it can be for children to navigate their changing world. Franklin’s Sunflower is a lovable, creative character, and her attempts to reunite her parents, make new friendships, and form a bond with her grandmother will have readers glued to the page and heartened by the story’s themes of love and resilience." —Wendy McLeod MacKnight, author of It's a Mystery, Pig Face!
"A moving and realistic story . . . Sunflower shines with emotion, convincing dialogue, and relatable characters." —Atlanta Journal-Constitutional
"Although even preteens may shake their heads at the way Sunny refuses to accept a new reality . . . they’ll appreciate how she gradually discovers that she needs to deal with things the way they are and that even if circumstances change, she can still count on the people around her to come through for her. " —School Library Journal
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