One day a squirrel decided to attend my class - We named it Sammy. This children's series was inspired by our new classroom pet, who now goes by the name Sunny. These books will bring inspiration to your child and students as they experience the adventures of Sunny and her friend Joey. Through their adventures, children can learn simple, moral - and maybe a bit squirrely - life lessons to help them grow in different ways.
Each book brings to the surface an issue or struggle that most of us have faced. Sunny always has such peaceful and wise advice to offer and shares a little Nug and Hug(a nugget of knowledge wrapped in a hug) at the end of each book. There are also guided questions to help the reader take an even deeper dive into the topic of the book.
Sunny has a nugget of knowledge wrapped in hugs for everyone in the family. Be ready to laugh, but also have your heart warmed by the life lessons from this sweet little furry friend.
Sunny’s Adventures Aren’t Done!
More stories about this amazing little friend are in the works to entertain and inspire your children!
A few of the books that are in the works and to be watching for……
Sunny Helps Joey say Goodbye
Sunny Goes to the Beach
Sunny and the Name Change….coming out in early 2025!!!
Sunny Helps Joey with the Big Test
Sunny and the Name Change out in 2025!
Sunny and the Name Change out in 2025!
Joey’s mom is getting married and will have a different last name as him now. This has hit Joey in a way that he did not expect and he is full of emotions. As he runs and hides in their favorite tree, his amazing friend Sunny comes to the rescue, making him laugh and sharing her great wisdom and love.
I hope you enjoy this fun little story that reminds us that a name does not define who we are or who our family is.
Meet the Real Sunny!
On February 27, 2017, I walked into room 119 for the first time to take over an 8th grade Science classroom. Their teacher had left at the very beginning of the year and they continued to have teacher after teacher, sub after sub, leave them. I was hired as their new teacher and knew and understood the situation that was waiting for me….I was so excited!
I did everything I could to bring Science to life for them and make it fun….they hadn’t really been taught all year. I also tried so hard to make sure they felt loved. After the first few days, many asked if I was going to leave them like everyone else. It was heartbreaking.
We made it to April and finished up state testing. The next week I walked into room 119 one morning and my phone was knocked off the hook and on the floor, papers were scattered everywhere, my can of nuts had the top chewed off and was scattered across my desk, and just like in the story…there was poop all over my desk! It took Sammy a few days to show his cute little face. It was so exciting to see the cutie that trashed my room each night.
The students and I named him Sammy and began to leave different foods and things out for him. We would make a hypothesis on what we thought he would like and eat the most of. I would leave my door open at the end of the day, but Sammy would never leave. He loved playing in all the sinks in our classroom and was truly a gymnast and loved swinging on the chairs and barstools. I loved how Hannah did the cover of the first book in the series. You will notice in the story that room 119 is a Kindergarten classroom, but the cover was created to give you a little glimpse of the real room 119.
Sammy brought so much joy and excitement to our classroom. On the last day of school, I had to get him outside. I couldn’t let him be trapped in the building all summer. We had to make a food trail that led to the outside door that was outside our classroom. It took so long to get Sammy to follow it outside. He loved room 119 as much as we loved him being there!
My students and I had talked about writing a book about Sammy. We even met a few times during lunch to try to plan. We got the first few pages done and then never really did anything else with it before school got out. Four years later, after I had moved to Arkansas, God put on my heart to pick up the pen and write that Sammy story that would be the beginning of a series. God connected me to the amazing Hannah to bring this sweet squirrel to life and to the amazing publishing team to make it all happen.
On February 4th, just three weeks before our goal to launch the book, we realized we couldn’t use the name and character “Sammy”......but God showed us a different name and even gave me another book that I wrote that very night…. Sunny and the Name Change which will be coming out after this one. Sammy will always be the same squirrel, have the same heart, and the same stories to share with the world….just a little name change :)
I can’t wait for you to get to know Sunny as more stories are written and shared. I pray that Sunny touches your heart as much as the real Sammy touched mine.
Hello Sammy!
I was always able to capture fun videos of Sammy after school. This was a much calmer, non-gymnist Sammy just enjoying her apple and corn. We had so much fun putting out different snacks and things for Sammy each day and seeing what her favorites were.
Sammy the Gymnast
After school once all the kiddos were gone and it got quiet, Sammy would come out and put on a show for me. She LOVED the desks and the barstools in the classroom. She was always jumping and flipping around them. She was a true gymnast at heart.
Meet The Fantastic Designer who Helped Make This Book Possible!
Hannah Munster
Hannah is a children’s book illustrator and graphic designer from Australia! She shares her heart and her home with her two teenage children, husband, and two pug dogs in Brisbane, Queensland. Hannah’s love of art started as a young child, always with a paint brush in her hand and a creative mind at the ready. Illustrating was always her passion so choosing it as a career made sense . Her specialty is Watercolor painting, and incorporating her graphic design skills assists in bringing her art into a story book form.
She joined talented Author Nicci Jo to bring the Sunnyy stories to life! This will be Hannah’s fourth published children’s book, she also has illustrated novel covers and chapter books.
If you are interested to know more or work with Hannah, visit her on Instagram for examples of her beautiful art @munsterdesignandprint.