Little Miss Sunshine
Author: Roger Hargreaves
Publisher: Price Stern Sloan
Copyright: 1981
Pages: 31
Reading Level: 2.2
Genre: Picture Book
Rating: ****

Summary:
There is a place called Miseryland, and all anyone does in Miseryland is cry. When the birds wake up they cry, and the King sits on his thrown all day and just crys. Well one day Little Miss Sunshine is driving along and she sees the sign for Miseryland. She has never heard of such a place, and she pulls up to the sign that reads: “ You are now entering Miseryland smiling, laughing, chuckling, giggling FORBIDDEN BY Order of the King.” She drove on and came to the castle, where at soldier stopped her and she…SMILED AT HIM. She was instantly arrested. The soldier then marched her through the castle and to the King. The soldier then explains that she had been arrested because she smiled at him, and what did Little Miss Sunshine do? She LAUGHED, then she CHUCKLED, and then she GIGGLED! The King burst out into tears, before she had shown up he was miserable, now he was twice as miserable. Little Miss Sunshine looked at the King then and asked why would he not want to be happy. His only reply was that because it was Miseryland, and that is how it always had been, everyone was miserable. Little Miss Sunshine took the King then and put him into her car and drove him to the sign in front of the city. Once they were there she pulled a pen from her purse and changed the sign to read: “You are now entering Laughterland smiling, laughing, chuckling, giggling PERMITTED By Order of the King.” She told the King that now he and the people could be happy, but he didn’t know how. Little Miss Sunshine just looked at him and told him to try it. So he smiled, then he laughed, and chuckled and giggled. And then Little Miss Sunshine drove home from Miseryland, which no longer exists because it is Laughterland now.

Who would benefit from reading this?
These stories are great for kids. Not only is there Little Miss Sunshine but an array of others in the collection. Each one teaches a valuable lesson/moral about life and are great to read to children.

Potential problems/conflicts:
Technically Little Miss Sunshine breaks the law, and is then arrested. Some parents may feel this is conveying the message that breaking the rules is okay if you change them.

My reaction:
I grew up on these books as a kid and I still love them to this day. Little Miss Bossy is one of my favorites, but even now as an adult they have left an impression. If a book leaves a good impression over years, that says more to me than anything else. A great book and I would read it again in a heartbeat.