How Sunny Sees It: A Journey to Reading Bravely is an educational picture book for children written by Lesley D. Nurse. Sunny doesn’t feel good about being called upon to read in class. She’d much rather be playing at home or having fun with her family. Reading is hard. Sunny doesn’t understand why it is so difficult to get the right pronunciation of the words she is trying to read aloud. She knows her teacher is there to help her learn how to pronounce those hard words and sounds properly, but it’s embarrassing. She feels like the other kids in the class are laughing at her, and that they think she’s slow. Her teacher understands how Sunny sees it, however, and she knows exactly how Sunny can address those issues.

Lesley D. Nurse’s educational picture book for children will resonate with any child (or adult!) who’s ever struggled with words and sounds others seem to read easily and fluently. That extra attention a child receives as she tries to pronounce a difficult sound aloud can seem a torment and turn learning from a joy into an ordeal to be avoided at all costs. Nurse’s story addresses this issue in an upbeat and positive manner that can be used by parents to help their kids feel better about reading as well as to help teachers get all their students on board with everyone’s differing strengths and gifts. This insightful and inspirational picture book is highly recommended.

How Sunny Sees It: A Journey to Reading Bravely is an illustrated picture book intended to increase children’s confidence, and was produced by author Lesley D. Nurse. We begin the journey with our central character: a little girl named Sunny. Sunny is sad because she fears she will be laughed at when she has to read, and the little girl is filled with self-doubt. Throughout the course of the story, Sunny learns the skills she needs to read with more confidence, and slowly we see the transformation that such self-confidence has on her personality. Themes of positive thinking, bravery and overcoming fear emerge alongside the central tale.

Encouragement is the keyword in this triumphant work by author Lesley D. Nurse, and the atmosphere of support and diversity which she creates throughout her delightful picture book is one to be treasured by adults and children alike. The Seuss-style rhyme scheme of the storyline makes it easy to roll words off the tongue and encourage kids to get into the rhythm, whilst the beautiful color illustrations hold the story together well. What I liked most was the idea that everyone is different and learns at their own pace, and that learning is really about looking inward and being positive about your progress without comparing it to other people. Solid advice for life, whatever your age, and packaged and presented with such excellent conceptual skills. Overall, How Sunny Sees It: A Journey to Reading Bravely is an absolutely essential guide for kids who struggle during reading and homework time.

When children's books combine a good story, a significant message, and beautiful images, then these are some of the most delightful and entertaining reads you can find. Lesley D. Nurse’s How Sunny Sees It is an illustrated book just a few pages long, but the charming elements listed above find their place here. Sunny is a young girl who is sad because she cannot read well and is afraid people will laugh at her if she reads out loud. She wants to improve, but rather than practicing she prefers to do funny things. Little by little, Sunny will realize that she can overcome her difficulty, especially thanks to the help of a kind teacher.

How Sunny Sees It: A Journey to Reading Bravely invites its young and less young readers to have a positive attitude. Nurse aims at showing people that they can overcome every difficulty, and she expresses this concept in the simplest and yet most effective way. Like everybody else, Sunny fears her problems are insurmountable, but when she says, “I can do it!” she teaches you two important lessons. The first is that nothing is impossible, and with a bit of courage, you can do everything you want. The second lesson is a little subtler, and it is that being able to do something is a joy. In the pictures, Sunny is sad almost until the end, but in the last pages, she finally smiles. Being happy is a gift we are all entitled to have. It would be great if parents read How Sunny Sees It with their children. They will explain to them how to overcome their fears – and maybe they will become a little braver too.