Sunshine

Select an Action

Sunshine

Title:

Sunshine

Author:

Krosoczka, Jarrett, author, illustrator, letterer.

Levithan, David, editor.

Summary:

When Jarrett J. Krosoczka was in high school, he was part of a program that sent students to be counselors at a camp for seriously ill kids and their families. Going into it, Jarrett was worried: Wouldn't it be depressing, to be around kids facing such a serious struggle? Wouldn't it be grim? But instead of the shadow of death, Jarrett found something else at Camp Sunshine: the hope and determination that gets people through the most troubled of times. Not only was he subject to some of the usual rituals that come with being a camp counselor (wilderness challenges, spooky campfire stories, an extremely stinky mascot costume), but he also got a chance to meet some extraordinary kids facing extraordinary circumstances. He learned about the captivity of illness for sure, but he also learned about the freedom a safe space can bring. -- Amazon.

General Note:

"How one camp taught me about life, death, and hope" -- Cover.

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

226 pages : chiefly illustrations (chiefly color) ; 23 cm

Genre:

Autobiographical comics.

Nonfiction comics.

Graphic novels.

Comics (Graphic works)

Personal Subject:

Krosoczka, Jarrett-Childhood and youth-Comic books, strips, etc.

Subject Term:

Camp counselors -- Comic books, strips, etc.

Camps -- Comic books, strips, etc.

Camps for terminally ill children -- Comic books, strips, etc.

Terminally ill children -- Comic books, strips, etc.

Parents of terminally ill children -- Comic books, strips, etc.

Author(s):

Levithan, David,

Publisher:

Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic,

Publication Date:

2023

ISBN:

9781338356328

9781338356311

Publication Information:

New York, NY : Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic, 2023.

Award Note:

Boston Globe-Horn Book Nonfiction Award, 2023.

Call Number:

YA KROSOCZKA

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003672766	New Young Adult Graphic Novels	KROSOCZKA	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

The extraordinary -- and extraordinarily powerful -- follow-up to Hey, Kiddo .

But instead of the shadow of death, Jarrett found something else at Camp Sunshine: the hope and determination that gets people through the most troubled of times. Not only was he subject to some of the usual rituals that come with being a camp counselor (wilderness challenges, spooky campfire stories, an extremely stinky mascot costume), but he also got a chance to meet some extraordinary kids facing extraordinary circumstances. He learned about the captivity of illness, for sure but he also learned about the freedom a safe space can bring.

Now, in his follow-up to the National Book Award finalist Hey, Kiddo , Jarrett brings readers back to Camp Sunshine so we can meet the campers and fellow counselors who changed the course of his life.

Author Notes

Jarrett J. Krosoczka is a New York Times best-selling author/ illustrator. Two-time winner of the Children's Choice Book Awards Third to Fourth Grade Book of the Year.

(Bowker Author Biography)

Reviews (2)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 7 Up--Krosoczka's follow-up to Hey, Kiddo tenderly depicts his formative experiences in 1994 as a 16-year-old camp counselor at a summer camp for children with severe illnesses, who attend with their families. He is closest to a young white child, Eric, who has acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and Diego, a younger teen with brown skin who is losing cognitive and motor skills because of a brain tumor. Krosoczka brings empathy and personal attention to every camper and family member he can, in hopes that they enjoy their limited time away from hospitals and treatments. The color scheme, with yellows and auburns shining out from gray and smudged backgrounds, reflects everyone's effort to find joy in trying circumstances. Counselors' dialogue, whether hanging out, planning activities, or discussing death and faith, makes it easy to feel attached to them all as they mature and reflect on what the camp means to them. Each of the adult counselors brings a unique perspective to the camp's work, with their personalities more fully revealed by summer's end. Chapter openers include photos, drawings, and newspaper clippings from Krosoczka's time at camp, and an afterword provides context about differences between the contents of the book and what really happened. The teen group sings Billy Joel's "Lullabye" as part of the end-of-camp Farewell Show, in a moment that will linger with readers long after the book's ending. VERDICT An admirable look back at a life turned toward service, optimism, and love.--Thomas Maluck

Publisher's Weekly Review

This simultaneously uplifting and devastating graphic novel memoir, a follow-up to Krosoczka's National Book Award finalist Hey, Kiddo, follows the creator's 16-year-old summer working at a camp for kids with life-threatening illnesses. An adult Krosoczka pensively recollects the discussion he had with his grandparents about his decision to work at Camp Sunshine: "Isn't it going to be depressing?" his grandmother asks. And while Krosoczka dispels her worries, the narrator admits he "had no idea what to expect." Accompanied by five classmates and two irritable chaperones, the protagonist arrives at the camp and learns he'll be providing one-on-one care for 13-year-old Diego, who has a progressive brain tumor and uses a wheelchair. He also develops a close bond with Power Rangers--obsessed Eric, who has leukemia. Grayscale panels are enlivened by a thematically appropriate sunshiny yellow, a skillful complement to depictions of Krosoczka's teenage self engaging in conversations with the campers, who share their hopes and dreams, even while soberly recognizing that they may never reach those realities. Though the creator is unsparing in his raw depictions of the campers' situations and his reverence when recalling these memories is palpable, he never condescends, always faithfully documenting the warmth and life-changing potential of confronting grief head-on and participating in communal care. Ages 12--up. (Apr.)