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 |
| Keywords | short stories; covid19; pandemic; isolation; kids as heroes; coronavirus; overcoming adversity; parents and children; homeschool; urban life; adaptability; community; diverse points of view; cooperation; empathy; child as narrator; different points of view; English language arts; narration from different points of view; novel studies; first person narration; third person narration; writing stories; connecting; respect for others; respect for self; Common Core aligned; |
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Supporting Resources
(select item to download) |
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. |
| Audience | ages 9 to 12 / grades 4 to 7 |
| Reading Levels |
Guided Reading W
Fountas & Pinnel Text Level W |
| Common Core |
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.3
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.6 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.6 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.5 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.3 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.5 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.3 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.6 |
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 ReviewsReaders 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 BookKids in the building get acquainted from their balconies … Such friendships will see us through this time as well.
” —PostmediaThis series of eight related stories will not only affect but inspire you.
” —Winnipeg Free PressBeautifully 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 NewsSunny 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 BookA whip-smart, heartfelt, and humorous middle grade novel.
” —Cloud Lake LiteraryAdderson is an artist — her questions are bigger than the moment: how does a child live with adult grief — the loss of livelihood? the loss of dreams? And how do children navigate the loss of their own dreams, dreams so significant and must-have when one is young? … These stories give us models, the knowledge that we have gotten through, and we can get through again, and in the case of Sunny Days Inside, we can navigate with humour and grace.
” —British Columbia Review