Hannah Sparkles: A Friend Through Rain or Shine

PreS-Gr 1—Hannah Sparkles has been shockingly perky and happy since birth. "Twirl, Sparkle, Shine!" And she shares these attributes liberally. Then one day Hannah gets the best news—a new neighbor. "This is better than a pet unicorn!" She's so excited to meet Sunny Everbright that she even forgets to bring her pom-poms. But after a day with Sunny, Hannah has lost her sparkle. Despite her best attempts, Hannah cannot convince Sunny to ride bikes, find butterflies, or draw unicorns. Sunny like bugs, mud, and rain. It is only when Hannah's mother says that "maybe Sunny finds her sparkle in other things" that Hannah understands that it's OK for pals to have different interests. She declares that "the two of us will always be friends." Mellom's first-person text complements Brantley-Newton's spot-on illustrations. Readers can practically feel Hannah's perky goodness and Sunny's amusement. The way the text is laid out among the illustrations and the use of an oversize font for emphasis make the book visually appealing and great for one-on-one sharing or read-alouds.