Mode

kid

parent

The Sun Will Come Out

by: Joanne Levy  

Ages

10+
11-year-olds Bea and Frankie have been planning their first summer at Camp Shalom forever. But then Frankie gets into horse camp! How will Bea replace her best friend for a whole summer?
Ages 10+
Pages 296
Publisher Orca Book Publishers
Coming May 2023
Awards
PJ Our Way Author Incentive Award Winner

Average Rating

95 Reviews
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What the Book Is About

11-year-old Bea Gelman is looking forward to a summer at Camp Shalom, but her best friend Frankie decides to go to horse camp instead! Luckily Bea makes friends with Regan, a sweet Irish girl who stands up for Bea when mean girls Samantha and Carly give her a hard time. Regan decides to try out for the lead in the camp production of Annie and encourages Bea to join her. Bea doesn’t want to be on stage, but she reluctantly agrees when she sees her crush, Jeremy, at rehearsals.
 
When Bea ends up in the camp infirmary with a bad case of hives, she meets Harry, the son of the camp directors. Harry doesn’t look like other kids, but Bea doesn’t mind and they become good friends. But just when it seems like Bea’s summer might not be so bad after all, mean girl Carly says she saw Regan kissing Jeremy, and Bea learns that Harry suffers from progeria, a rare but fatal genetic disease. With Regan and Harry’s help, Bea learns about the power of true friendship and what it means to be courageous in the face of life’s challenges.
 

Jewish Content & Values

  • Bea and her family are Jewish; Bea attends Hebrew school and plans to have a bat mitzvah. Most of the book takes place at the Jewish summer camp Camp Shalom. Her counselor Shira is from Israel, and they sing Hatikvah (Israel’s national anthem) and the Israeli lullaby Numi Numi.
  • Harry talks to Bea about the Jewish value of courage, ometz lev (literally strength of heart). As a result, Bea is inspired to make amends with Regan and take on the lead role in the camp play when Regan has to leave camp.
  • Harry’s father, the camp director, gives a Shabbat d’var, or talk, about kavod, the Jewish value of respect, and how we can demonstrate kavod through our behavior.

Content Advisory

Bea’s unrequited crush on her best friend’s older brother is a significant plot point. While the story doesn’t go into details about Harry’s progeria, Bea does learn that the average life expectancy of an individual with this rare genetic syndrome is fourteen.
 
What the Book Is About

What the Book Is About

11-year-old Bea Gelman is looking forward to a summer at Camp Shalom, but her best friend Frankie decides to go to horse camp instead! Luckily Bea makes friends with Regan, a sweet Irish girl who stands up for Bea when mean girls Samantha and Carly give her a hard time. Regan decides to try out for the lead in the camp production of Annie and encourages Bea to join her. Bea doesn’t want to be on stage, but she reluctantly agrees when she sees her crush, Jeremy, at rehearsals.
 
When Bea ends up in the camp infirmary with a bad case of hives, she meets Harry, the son of the camp directors. Harry doesn’t look like other kids, but Bea doesn’t mind and they become good friends. But just when it seems like Bea’s summer might not be so bad after all, mean girl Carly says she saw Regan kissing Jeremy, and Bea learns that Harry suffers from progeria, a rare but fatal genetic disease. With Regan and Harry’s help, Bea learns about the power of true friendship and what it means to be courageous in the face of life’s challenges.
 

Jewish Content & Values

  • Bea and her family are Jewish; Bea attends Hebrew school and plans to have a bat mitzvah. Most of the book takes place at the Jewish summer camp Camp Shalom. Her counselor Shira is from Israel, and they sing Hatikvah (Israel’s national anthem) and the Israeli lullaby Numi Numi.
  • Harry talks to Bea about the Jewish value of courage, ometz lev (literally strength of heart). As a result, Bea is inspired to make amends with Regan and take on the lead role in the camp play when Regan has to leave camp.
  • Harry’s father, the camp director, gives a Shabbat d’var, or talk, about kavod, the Jewish value of respect, and how we can demonstrate kavod through our behavior.

Content Advisory

Bea’s unrequited crush on her best friend’s older brother is a significant plot point. While the story doesn’t go into details about Harry’s progeria, Bea does learn that the average life expectancy of an individual with this rare genetic syndrome is fourteen.