The Girl With The Sunshine Smile by Karen McCombie (Children’s, Reading Age 8 years +, Target age 9 years +, Dyslexia friendly, 9/10E, short 'n' sweet review)

Cute cover!

October 2014, Barrington Stoke, 64 pages, Paperback, Review copy

Summary from Barrington Stoke

Everyone misses Meg’s sunny smile, but is it any surprise it’s gone when Mum has moved them onto her new boyfriend’s grotty barge with his three sons? 

Nayu's thoughts

I'm already a fangirl of Karen's work, so seeing that she'd written a title for Barrington Stoke who provide stories for those who can struggle a bit with reading made me squee a lot. It was sad having to watch Meg be so reluctant to adjust to her new life which gets thrust upon in such a way that she becomes rather grumpy. I can understand how significant a change it is to live with boys & on a boat, but to some extent she was being a grumpy little madam who could have appreciated the effort Danny put in to trying to make her smile. 

Don't fret, Meg does smile by the end of the book, as did I. I think this story deals with complex emotions which come from when a parent finds someone new they wish to spend their life with, and how children can seemingly have so little say in where they move to. This is a keeper which I'll be rereading many more times in the future!

Find out more on Karen's website.  

Suggested read

Another of Karen's books for Barrington Stoke is Sweetness and Lies (Children's, Dyslexia Friendly, 8 years +, 10/10E)