Sunny Makes Her Case

By: Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm

donated paperback 218 pages

Published: 2024

Genre: YA graphic novel, realistic fiction

 

I grabbed this off the free cart at work (it had some damage to the back cover) because I like Holm's work and I've read one or two other "Sunny" books. I figured I'd read it, then donate it to a language arts teacher friend for their classroom library.

 

I'm keeping it.

 

I loved this book! The 70s references were fantastic! HoJo, fondue parties, ABC Afterschool Specials, . . . this really resonated with me. Then the classic athletics vs. academics . . . Sunny and her friend Arun decide to start a debate team. This was so fun to read! I love how Sunny grew as a debater. What a fun book! (When I was twelve, my mom told me I should become a lawyer because of how much I argued.)

I marked page 157 because their debate coach, Mr. Roy (the physics teacher) says, "You're not going to meet too many people in life who agree with you on everything. So learning to understand where someone is coming from is a crucial life skill. It will make you a great debater and an even better human being."

He's talking about being able to argue either side of a topic. "Arguing for an issue you don't agree with forces you to see that issue from the other side." Wow. 

 

There's the cute guy from her summer job, Tony, who keeps trying to ask her out on a date. There's her wonderful, tell-it-like-it-is grandpa. I may need to read all the other Sunny books!

I'm definitely keeping this book on my graphic novel shelf.

 

 

Sunny Makes a Splash

by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm

NPMS paperback 218 pages

Published: 2021

Genre: YA graphic novel, realistic fiction

I read this while subbing one day in March. I enjoyed it and would love to read all the "Sunny" books by these two. Jennifer L. Holm is one of my favorite graphic novel creators, along with Doug TenNapel and Raina Telgemeier. 

Sunny is anticipating a boring summer when she is invited to the country club pool. While there, she helps out at the snack bar and ends up with a summer job. Her fear of going off the high dive is overcome by summer's end. 

Sweet, fun story. Loved it.

The Fourteenth Goldfish

by Jennifer L. Holm
Hennepin County Library audiobook 3 CDs
read by Georgette Perna
genre: children's fiction, mostly realistic with a dab of SciFi

The "dab" of SciFi is that the protagonist's grandpa has developed a way to reverse aging. His thirteen-year-old self with his seventy-six year old brain, experiences, and attitude make eleven-year-old Ellie do some growing up of her own.

From notes I jotted at stoplights:

The narrator did a great job, but her voice sounded soooo young! It was a bit disconcerting at first.

Why would Ellie's mom keep replacing her goldfish? The teacher emphasized the point of the project / lesson was to learn about death.

Short chapters / fifth grader - fits the upper elementary reader this is intended for.
Science and scientists - I love the way the grandpa piques Ellie's curiosity and gets her researching just for the sake of knowing more.

I had to laugh when grandpa got detention. His comments were funny, even though I can't remember them.

A lot of discussion material on aging, teens, families, communication . . .

Grandpa is a cranky old man, always complaining. Gee - where have I experienced this scenario?

Sunny Side Up

by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm
PRMS hardcover 216 pages
genre: YA graphic novel realistic fiction

I keep forgetting that the author/illustrator team are siblings and not husband and wife! I love that they took a painful part of their own past (a relative with an addiction) and turned it into an accessible story. Sunny (Sunshine) is ten years old and looking forward to a fun summer. But when her parents send her to Florida to spend the summer with her grandfather, she has an entirely different experience than she expected. Through flashbacks, we learn about events leading up to her trip, with her older brother Dale making bad choices about alcohol, friends, and drugs. This is a very well-told story with believable events and emotions shown all too clearly on Sunny's face.