I think this was my favorite Marguerite Henry book as a kid :)

3.5 This is a sweet, short story. My biggest complaint is that this book was written in and meant to take place in the 90's but aside from one mention of buying a new CD, it feels like it's the 1940's. If it had never mentioned the CD I could have just beleived it was historical fiction I'd have liked it better.

This was Marguerite Henry's last published book before her death. While the story was not my favorite, it is a great first chapter book for early readers.

Cute little story of a girl who wanted an horse but gets a mule.

This was Henry's last book, and there is a mention of "my mom's favorite CD" in the beginning, but then we slip, temporally, into a nondescript time when people are using horse carts and buggies, and everyone in Tennessee seems to use or want to use a mule and a plow, and nobody has farm machinery. Perhaps Tennessee is indeed like this.

There is little to no tension in this book. The neighbor lad is abusive and nasty about the mule for a while but then changes his mind. The mule is crowned King. The main character does great in school, writes an award-winning essay about mules and is feted across America, mom's jam business takes off despite the family being impoverished, everyone loves the mule, and they all live happily ever after about the fifth chapter in the book. If you're looking for a zero-impact tale to read to your Covid-shattered loved ones who need a bit of comfort, here's one for you.

Brown Sunshine is a short, cute little chapter book. It's not Henry's finest writing, by a longshot, but it's an enjoyable enough read for die-hard Henry fans, horse lovers, and/or mule lovers.