In this follow-up to Sunshine Holiday
, the eponymous heroine of that novel retains her steadfast optimism despite rough patches in her life. Narrator Sunny misses her father, who is still in prison (“Daddy made a big mistake, and he's very sorry for it”). Her mother has lost her job as a hotel chambermaid and is having trouble finding work. And Mrs. Lullaby, her beloved fourth-grade teacher, is dismissed by the “never-smile principal,” Mr. Otis (“All he cares about are tests.... All she cares about is teaching”). Taking matters into her own hands, the sassy, stubborn girl manages to find a potential job for her mother and to get her teacher rehired. Sunny's other missions include making Valentine's Day “even sweeter” and using her recent appointment as junior deputy mayor of her town to plan “the first annual Kid's Day,” a subplot that gets short shrift. Sunny's observations favor the use of hyphens—Mrs. Lullaby's face shines “like a teacher-apple” and her class takes a “butterflies-in-our-tummies test”—and can be syrupy. A satisfying if predictable finale lives up to the book's title. Ages 7–10. (Feb.)
