3 h 25 minAudiobook15 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 3 h 25 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What happens when a small boy with a sunny outlook wanders into a city that seems to have no end?
In Sunny Boy in the Big City, Ramy Allison White brings a cheerful young hero to New York. Buildings tower above him. Streets fill with people and noise. Through Sunny Boy's eyes, the city becomes a place of questions and discoveries, where an ordinary corner can hold something entirely new.
Sunny Boy wanders through this huge, unfamiliar world, and getting lost becomes part of his adventure. The fear of being small in a crowd is there, but the story handles it lightly. His bright mood gives the journey its charm, inviting you to look at busy city life with curiosity rather than hurry.
What you’ll discover
- A small boy's view See towering buildings and crowded streets from the height of a curious child.
- Everyday things become marvels Vehicles, shops, bridges and parks offer fresh reasons to stop, watch and wonder.
- An unexpected wrong turn Follow a wandering boy as unfamiliar streets turn getting lost into a gentle adventure.
- A cheerful travelling companion Sunny Boy meets the world with a bright mood that shapes the whole journey.
- City life through older eyes Explore how an early twentieth-century children's story pictures the bustle and wonder of New York.
Who will love it
You will love this book if you enjoy gentle family adventures, a curious child's questions, and old-fashioned city sights such as ferries, elevated trains and toy departments.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A small general wins lemonade and loses a hat
- The train carries a boy and a secret
- Hotels and stores are mazes for a small boy
- Buses, ferries and a park full of surprises
- Snow White, an aquarium and a statue
- Lost in the subway and found by Tim
- Kindness crosses the lines between rich and poor
- A child's eye view told with warmth and humor
Who’s who
- Sunny BoyA polite, curious five-year-old, formally Arthur Bradford Horton, who visits New York with his parents and wants to ride everything and see every sight.
- Mrs. HortonSunny's loving mother, who plans each day of sightseeing, keeps him safe and cares kindly about everyone he meets.
- Mr. HortonSunny's father, who is in New York on business, takes his son on buses and subways and quietly helps people in need.
- Tim HarrityA thirteen-year-old newsboy who meets Sunny lost on a street corner and helps get him safely back to his family.
- Mrs. HarrityTim's warm-hearted widowed mother, who takes in laundry and cares for six children, and feeds a lost boy without question.
- Theresa HarrityTim's sixteen-year-old sister, who works in a store, helps run the household and wants to become a dressmaker.
- Joe BrownAn older boy from Centronia who rides the train to New York, seems unhappy and avoids the Hortons.
- HarrietThe Hortons' housekeeper at home, who loves Sunny, reads him fairy tales and helps him hunt for his missing hat.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 15 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Sunny Boy in the Big City
by Ramy Allison White · 1920
A small general with a drum leaves home for New York, where ferries, subways and hotel halls await.
Easy read2–5 hours to readEnglish
Excellent
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In short
What happens when a five-year-old who has never seen a ferryboat, an escalator or a subway is let loose in New York? Sunny Boy says out loud what he thinks, and he asks the questions grown-ups stopped asking long ago.
Sunny Boy in the Big City at a glance
- Reading time
- About 2 h1 h 35 min fast, 2 h 20 min slow
- Length
- 28,200 words
- Library level
- Easy short sentences, plain words
- First published
- 1920by Ramy Allison White
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A small general wins lemonade and loses a hat
The book opens on a quiet street in Centronia. Sunny Boy, who is five, is the general of an army of six small boys and one girl. He beats a lively tune on a drum that his mother has patched with court plaster.
Little Ruth Baker takes Bobbie Henderson's place in line. She cannot tell right from left, but she is cheerful about it, and Sunny lets her stay. The army stops to drill in front of a fine house, and a nearsighted woman storms out to scold them for the noise.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 15 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1920
- Language
- English
- Level
- Easy read
Cite this edition
White, Ramy Allison. Sunny Boy in the Big City. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/sunny-boy-in-the-big-city.
White, R. A. (2026). Sunny Boy in the big city. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/sunny-boy-in-the-big-city (Original work published 1920)
White, Ramy Allison. Sunny Boy in the Big City. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/sunny-boy-in-the-big-city.
@book{white2026sunny,
author = {White, Ramy Allison},
title = {Sunny Boy in the Big City},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/sunny-boy-in-the-big-city},
note = {First published 1920}
}
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What is Sunny Boy in the Big City about?
It follows five-year-old Sunny Boy on his first trip to New York with his parents. He rides buses, ferries and the subway, visits a park, theater, aquarium and the Statue of Liberty, and gets lost twice.
Who is Sunny Boy in this book?
Sunny Boy is the nickname of Arthur Bradford Horton, a polite, curious five-year-old from the town of Centronia. His parents call him Sunny Boy so often that many people think it is his only name.
Do I need to read the other Sunny Boy books first?
No. This is the third book in the series, but it stands alone. The narrator briefly mentions Sunny's earlier visits to the farm and the seashore, and everything needed for this trip is explained.
The author
Ramy Allison White
Children's writer
Ramy Allison White wrote the Sunny Boy series, ten books for young children, which began with Sunny Boy in the Country and Sunny Boy at the Seashore. The books were published by Barse and Hopkins, who specialized in series for young readers. The books show their author's world, with family trips, small-town manners and gentle humor about childhood.
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