I received "Sunshine" in a Librarything.com Early Reviewer Giveaway. It was the story of a boy spending a week with his mother, who left when he was very young. It's not my favorite of Ms. Bauer's books. It didn't hold my attention very well.

Ben is a boy without a mom but he does have a loyal dog. The problem is that his dog is imaginary and he is getting to old for an imaginary friend. He comes up with a plan to bring his mom back. Will it work? Will he be able to let go of his imaginary friend?
This book is recommended for readers in third through fifth grades. This story is for children who have experienced loss and felt like there was something missing in their lives. The author uses rich language strong characters and a character driven plot to appeal to readers. ( )

Ben’s mother left when he was young but agrees to let him visit on her island refuge in Minnesota’s wilderness. He goes with the hope of finding out why she left and trying to get her back.

It's not an easy trip and Ben doesn't make the best choices either.

The book is well-written and this could be a good book for a discussion with a middle grade reader. There's a lot of complexity in the book and it might not be great for a solo read from a young reader. ( )

What a sweet middle-grade book about family trauma, forgiveness, and healing. Ben wants to spend a week with his mother at her remote wilderness cabin on an island in northern Minnesota, to finally get to know her and hopefully convince her to come back to live with him and his father. She left them when Ben was three years old, to be raised by his single dad, and Ben has always felt guilty that something he did (that he can't remember) caused her to leave him and never return. He has coped with his anxieties and fears (his "what ifs") with the support of an imaginary dog named Sunshine, who is always with him and comforts him, even though his dad says he's way too old to still have an imaginary friend. Now, on the island, he's going to learn both physical and mental survival skills. He finally finds out why his mother left, and both of them must learn to forgive. The storyline with the dog is particularly poignant, and I'd almost say this is magical realism because of the way the dog appears at significant times to aid Ben; even knowing it's just an aspect of his subconscious, you start to think there's really a dog there! ( )

Ben visits the mother who left him and his father when he was three years old at her remote Northern Minnesota home. He takes along his dog Sunshine, who is imaginary. I thought this book was well written, I'm just not sure what age I would recommend it for as the story handles some mature topics that I'm not sure the target audience would read in the same way I as an adult did. ( )