Sunny’s Story Five Star Reviews
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A Must Read.
By Ellen Seltzer (Connecticut)
Sunny’s Story is the tale of Ian, the author’s son, that is told through the eyes of the family dog, Sunny. It is written in easy to understand English and portrays a happy, healthy life that gets turned around and eventually ends in tragedy. I taught this short story to two classes of 6th graders who literally gobbled it up. They loved reading about Ian’s life, finding the signs where his life began to go astray, and culminating in how could he have avoided his outcome. They paid tribute to Ian and his family and created projects to pass information on to others. It is an excellent tool to teach kids the evils of drugs and how to help them avoid making bad choices. It is a stepping stone for conversation and I highly recommend it to every parent and teacher. It is a much needed book and I commend Ginger Katz for having the guts to write it and bring this message to our youth.
Sunny’s Story is a must read that you will want to share with those you love.
By Diane Casel (Norwalk, CT)
In Sunny’s Story, the family dog tells a compelling and moving true story that masterfully and creatively introduces to the reader the most challenging issues that families face. This is a simply told story that you will want to share over and over again. Sunny’s Story can be used as a tool to open up the necessary dialog between parents and children regarding the power of addiction and the dangers of early drug use. It is a personal account that quickly draws you in to a family’s struggle with addiction over the course of a young boy’s life and brings insights to the early warning signs so easily missed. Sunny’s Story is a must read for all parents and a wonderful addition to early childhood education.
Sunny’s Story.
By Linda Surks, Families Changing America
Sunny’s Story is a very powerful book, creatively written to impact adolescents, teens, and parents. It provides a very personal perspective of the reality that terrible things can happen to good people and no family is immune from the devastation of drugs. Seeing the progression through the eyes of the family pet is an effective way to get a very important message out. Every family and every school should have a copy of this book.
Must read for the entire family!
By J.M. Sibley “family man” (Huntington, CT)
As a person who places the family unit as the highest of importance, I strongly recommend this wonderful book. This is a real life story, told by the family dog Sunny, about how a boy struggles with drugs. The progression of use changes the boy, Ian, and the relationships with his family, friends and school. The book leaves a lasting impression and will open the door for conversations between adults and children. The book was read by our Church Youth Group and it led to an evening dedicated to this topic. I have given copies to all my brothers and sisters and many others as well!
Sunny’s Story.
By Greg Garland (Stamford, CT)
It is always sad when a child dies. Drugs – an alluring but deadly temptation faced by children every day – is an avoidable killer. That fact only makes those particular stories even more horrifically tragic.
Ginger Katz found a way to tell her family’s true story, her young son’s death by drug overdose, in a way that brings children directly into this important dialog. The first-person in her story isn’t even a person, it’s the family dog: Sunny. Sunny struggles to make sense of a senseless death and of the loss he feels long after the overdose.
Katz’s inventive narrative and writing style enabled me to share this book with my two daughters (age 11 and 9) in such a way that they heard, understood, and now remember this Lifesaving message. My kids, like yours, are unable to escape being tempted by drugs. Drugs are everywhere. My hope and duty, as their father, is to teach them how to be strong and knowledgeable enough to choose wisely and say NO each time they are offered even gateway drugs.
All parents should buy this book, read it to their young children and keep their copy on a prominent bookshelf. It can then serve as a constant reminder that we must all be vigilant against drugs.
Doing so, in your home, could save a life you love.
Must Have Book.
By L. Moore, Educator
I am a middle school principal, and SUNNY’S STORY is a part of our sixth grade reading literacy curriculum. This book is a must have for schools and for families. This book tells the story of a real boy and his struggles with drug addiction through the eyes of his dog, Sunny. SUNNY’S STORY is well-written and provides for thoughtful discussion between the students and the adults.
Sunny’s Story.
By S. Featherston (Westport, CT)
Sunny’s story is a beautiful story through the eyes of Ian’s best friend, his dog Sunny. It was sad to see how the drug abuse affected the dog. The drugs took over Ian’s life which affected the whole family. It is a great story for middle school children to read to help them to recognize how drug use impacts everyone’s lives around you.
Great story of addiction changing a family.
By Lisa J. Remson (Trumbull, CT)
Sunny’s Story was touching. It shows through the eyes of the family dog, Sunny, how he saw Ian change from the use of drugs. Sunny is sad and wants to help Ian, as his family does, but his destructive path ends in his death. This is a book for all ages as it details how drugs can take over anyone’s life. It is compelling and well written and a must read for all!
Peer vs Parent Pressure – Sunny’s story may help tip the balance.
By Andrew Field “ABC News Correspondent” (Washington, DC)
We all think drug addiction won’t touch our families. “Not my child” we say to ourselves with a touch of arrogance and hope. Ginger Katz may have had the same thoughts before an overdose took her precious son’s life. Is it ever too early to teach children about the poisons they might willingly ingest when they’re older? My own daughter sat through DARE and just say no classes in elementary school. Somehow she avoided the addictive behaviors that left her high school classmates, stoned, glassy eyed and too often wrapped around a tree after an intoxicated ride home. My dearest, closest friend and companion is a emergency nurse who taught those DARE classes and yet her own middle class suburban daughter became a heroin addict. Combating the peer pressure and intoxicating lure of the next high is an 18 year long challenge for many parents. Sunny’s Story is a heartfelt tale of how easily drugs can kill. It’s a good starting point to help children understand and avoid that pain.
A must read for parents and children.
By Paul Joseph (Port Washington, NY)
Told from the point of view of the family, this is the story of addiction so that a child can understand and learn to say know. It will allow a parent and child to open a dialog where this can be discussed. This is the hardest thing of all and that is why I recommend this book to all parents and teachers in the hope that we can save our children from this terrible disease.
An important book every child should read.
By Ronnie M. Mclaughlin (Wilton, CT)
This important story is about the struggle of a bright teenager who falls victim to heroin and is told from his beloved beagle’s perspective. Written so that students as young as 10 years old could read along with their parents, this story will create a path for open dialogue about substance abuse. The story will make you laugh and cry. The expressions of Sunny in the book show his feelings in such a way that you almost think the dog is human. I strongly recommend this book to teenagers, parents, teachers and students. It makes for a great learning tool in the classroom as well. I highly recommend this book especially to parents as it shows this story can happen to anyone no matter what walk of life. I know because a similar story happened to me. This book is written with simplicity and honesty that will grab the reader no matter what age from beginning to end.
An Original and Moving Account That Hits Home.
By K. Derossi (CT, USA)
Sunny’s Story, told from the eyes of a beloved beagle, is an original and moving account of a family’s struggle with addiction. It is a story faced by millions of families today regardless of income level, race, or where we live. All families want the best for their children. What makes Sunny’s Story special – is that it teaches the early warning signs through a true story and speaks to young children as well as high school students. I have read Sunny’s Story with my three teenagers and it opened a dialogue about what goes on in their world…our world. I think every family should read this!
