Cover of Ways to Make Sunshine

Ways to Make Sunshine

by Renée Watson · Grades 3–7 · Children's

Ways to Make Sunshine by Renée Watson is on US reading lists at grades 3–7. It appears on 2 lists: 2 book-award lists, across 1 state. Every citation below links to the primary source.

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Before you buy: Grades 3–7 · 193 pages. The button opens the paperback edition (ISBN 9781526613738). If the class uses a set edition or translation, match its ISBN first.

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Assigned across 2 curriculum lists · 1 state

Grade placement varies by school — the median assigned book spans 4 grade levels (83% span three or more, across 13,258 source-cited assignments).

On reading-award lists:Garden State Children's Book AwardGolden Kite Award

This page shows where Ways to Make Sunshine is assigned in US schools — curricula, states, grades, and the primary-source citations behind each placement. Not a summary or study guide.

Reading level at a glance

Grade range
Grades 3–7
Pages
193
Reading time
about 3h 30m (est.)
First published
2020
Genre
Children's
ISBN-13
9781526613738

Sources: grade range from the cited lists below, last checked 2026-06-21; pages and year from our catalog record (sources); reading time is an estimate at 250 words a minute.

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About this book

Book facts and sources (2)
On award reading lists
  • Garden State Children's Book Award (source: njla.org)
  • Golden Kite Award (source: Wikipedia)
Catalog record
First published 2020 · 193 pages (edition lengths vary) (source: how we source book data)

Similar grade-level books

See all books like Ways to Make Sunshine→ — matched on theme + reading level.

Why it is assigned

This children's title is typically read at grades 3–7. Written in the 2020s; cited on 2 lists: 2 book-award lists.

Where this book is recommended

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Common questions

What grade level is Ways to Make Sunshine?
Ways to Make Sunshine is listed for grades 3–7. It appears on 2 book-award lists across 1 state. Exact placement varies by school and district.
How long does it take to read Ways to Make Sunshine?
It takes about 3h 30m to read Ways to Make Sunshine (193 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 210 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
What curricula assign Ways to Make Sunshine?
Ways to Make Sunshine appears on reading lists for Garden State Children's Book Award, Golden Kite Award. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
Is Ways to Make Sunshine banned in schools?
Ways to Make Sunshine does not appear in PEN America's Index of School Book Bans 2022-2024. No documented multi-district removals on record, but individual districts may challenge titles locally.

Why this book is on this list

How we classify

Each dimension below is sourced from a public reference. The full framework is documented on the classification standard page.

Lexile measure
Not classified — this book has no published Lexile measure.
Grade band
Grades 3–7 — drawn from the book-award lists citing this book.
Curriculum alignment
Cited in 2 curricula on this site (see “Where recommended” above for primary-source links).
State-level evidence
On state book-award lists in 1 state (see citations above).
Removal / banning records
No tracked removal or challenge records in cited sources.
Seasonal / contextual tags
Tagged for: book-club, read-aloud.

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