Sunny Days Inside

Sunny Days Inside

and Other Stories

Written by: Adderson, Caroline
ages 9 to 12 / grades 4 to 7

When the “grownup virus” hits, kids who live in the same apartment building must cope with strange new rules and extended time at home with parents and siblings.

And they survive brilliantly, each in their own way. Twin boys throw themselves into an independent research assignment on prehistoric people and embrace their own devolution. A budding track star is encouraged to run laps on his balcony by a neighbor who has a secret crush on him. A classroom troublemaker reaches out to a teacher when his own father begins to exhibit signs of mental illness. A young entrepreneur saves himself and his hairdresser mother from financial collapse by renting out the family dog. And a girl finds a way to communicate with her hearing-impaired neighbor so that they can spy on the rest of the building. 

The stories follow the course of the pandemic, from the early measures through lockdown, as the kids in the building observe the stresses on the adults around them and use their own quirky kid ingenuity to come up with ways to make their lives better. Funny, poignant and wise, this book will long outlive even the pandemic.

Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.3
Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character's thoughts, words, or actions).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.6
Compare and contrast the point of view from which different stories are narrated, including the difference between first- and third-person narrations.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.3
Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., how characters interact).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.5
Explain how a series of chapters, scenes, or stanzas fits together to provide the overall structure of a particular story, drama, or poem.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.6
Describe how a narrator's or speaker's point of view influences how events are described.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.3
Describe how a particular story's or drama's plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.5
Analyze how a particular sentence, chapter, scene, or stanza fits into the overall structure of a text and contributes to the development of the theme, setting, or plot.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.6
Explain how an author develops the point of view of the narrator or speaker in a text.

When the “grownup virus” hits, kids who live in the same apartment building must cope with strange new rules and extended time at home with parents and siblings.

And they survive brilliantly, each in their own way. Twin boys throw themselves into an independent research assignment on prehistoric people and embrace their own devolution. A budding track star is encouraged to run laps on his balcony by a neighbor who has a secret crush on him. A classroom troublemaker reaches out to a teacher when his own father begins to exhibit signs of mental illness. A young entrepreneur saves himself and his hairdresser mother from financial collapse by renting out the family dog. And a girl finds a way to communicate with her hearing-impaired neighbor so that they can spy on the rest of the building. 

The stories follow the course of the pandemic, from the early measures through lockdown, as the kids in the building observe the stresses on the adults around them and use their own quirky kid ingenuity to come up with ways to make their lives better. Funny, poignant and wise, this book will long outlive even the pandemic.

Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.3
Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character's thoughts, words, or actions).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.6
Compare and contrast the point of view from which different stories are narrated, including the difference between first- and third-person narrations.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.3
Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., how characters interact).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.5
Explain how a series of chapters, scenes, or stanzas fits together to provide the overall structure of a particular story, drama, or poem.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.6
Describe how a narrator's or speaker's point of view influences how events are described.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.3
Describe how a particular story's or drama's plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.5
Analyze how a particular sentence, chapter, scene, or stanza fits into the overall structure of a text and contributes to the development of the theme, setting, or plot.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.6
Explain how an author develops the point of view of the narrator or speaker in a text.

Published By Groundwood Books Ltd — Aug 1, 2021
Specifications 176 pages | 5 in x 7.5 in
Supporting Resources
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Teacher's Guide
Written By

CAROLINE ADDERSON is an award-winning author of books for young readers and adults. She is the author of the picture books Norman, Speak! (illustrated by Qin Leng) and I Love You One to Ten (illustrated by Christina Leist), as well as the Jasper John Dooley and Izzy series. Her middle-grade books include Middle of Nowhere, A Simple Case of Angels and The Mostly True Story of Pudding Tat, Adventuring Cat. She has won the Sheila Egoff Award, the Chocolate Lily Book Award and the Diamond Willow Award, among many other honors. For more information, see carolineaddersonkids.com.

Written By

CAROLINE ADDERSON is an award-winning author of books for young readers and adults. She is the author of the picture books Norman, Speak! (illustrated by Qin Leng) and I Love You One to Ten (illustrated by Christina Leist), as well as the Jasper John Dooley and Izzy series. Her middle-grade books include Middle of Nowhere, A Simple Case of Angels and The Mostly True Story of Pudding Tat, Adventuring Cat. She has won the Sheila Egoff Award, the Chocolate Lily Book Award and the Diamond Willow Award, among many other honors. For more information, see carolineaddersonkids.com.

Commended, Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Books of the Year, 2022

Short-listed, Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Award, 2022

Short-listed, Saskatchewan Young Readers’ Choice Awards, Diamond Willow Award, 2022

Short-listed, Chocolate Lily Book Awards — Novel Category, 2022

Nominated, Rocky Mountain Book Award, 2023

Commended, Canadian Children’s Book Centre, Best Books for Kids and Teens, 2022

While each vignette is an entertaining short story, it’s the connections among the kids that make this a brilliant read. STARRED REVIEW

” —Kirkus Reviews

Readers ages 9-12 are likely to find themselves revisiting their own days of lockdown … in this understanding read.

” —Wall Street Journal

[A] valuable portrait … of not only the pandemic experience but how adult upheaval of any kind can impact kids.

” —Open Book

Kids in the building get acquainted from their balconies … Such friendships will see us through this time as well.

” —Postmedia

This series of eight related stories will not only affect but inspire you.

” —Winnipeg Free Press

Beautifully written.

” —CM: Canadian Review of Materials

[Adderson] has a knack for capturing the voice of each child—the way they think and speak and hope—creating believable characters with whom children can identify.

” —Canadian Children's Book News

Sunny Days Inside reaffirms our connection to one another, and captures a very specific period of time where our world became impossibly small, but we still managed to find wonder within it.

” —Open Book