Praise for Sunny Rolls the Dice:
A New York Times bestseller!
2020 Maverick Graphic Novel Reading List
* "A sweet, funny, and silly story with a serious message at its core: stop trying so hard to be cool, and just have fun being yourself." -- School Library Journal, starred review
* "The dice are rolling readers' way in this third outing." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review
Praise for Sunny Side Up:
"Heartbreaking and hopeful, Sunny Side Up is just the thing to chase away the clouds." --Raina Telgemeier, creator of Smile and Sisters
* "A humorous yet emotional story with a memorable protagonist and detailed full-color art that make this a perfect choice for fans of Raina Telgemeier." -- School Library Journal, starred review
* "The Holms tell this poignant, multi-threaded story with great warmth and humor, and exquisite comic timing." -- Shelf Awareness for Readers, starred review
Praise for Swing It, Sunny:
* "Fans of Sunny Side Up will adore this sequel, which provides enough background for new readers to jump right in." -- School LIbrary Journal, starred review
* "Poignant and hilarious in turn and emotionally rich throughout. Another radiant outing." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review
★ 2021-07-13
Deep waters literal and otherwise beckon as another summer brings another birthday—the big 13th!—a first real job, and more growing up for Sunny.
The prospect of a crushingly boring summer of 1978 turns brighter with Sunny’s discovery that classmate Tony is in charge of the local country club’s poolside snack bar. Though the high diving board defeats her, her willingness to lend a hand during a sudden rush at the stand leads to a job offer—and a front-row seat for summer flirtations and other instructional events in and around the pool. Meanwhile, shared experiences turn what begins as a nodding acquaintance between the two middle schoolers into something closer as summer wears on. Drenching their episodic tale in 1970s detail (Rocket Pops, The Muppet Show, Ben-Gay ointment, Starsky and Hutch!), the Holms and colorist Pien construct a fluent narrative that runs invisibly but irresistibly beneath sparse but natural-sounding dialogue and equally economical but wonderfully expressive cartoon panels astir with significant looks, gestures, and reaction shots. Sunny does nerve herself at summer’s end to tackle the high board, and though a final scene of she and Tony standing together in the school hallway is wordless, their postures alone convey a world of meaning. With exceptions established in previous episodes, Sunny and most of her circle are White, but group scenes include racial diversity.
A buoyant summer idyll with a few mild downs but far more ups. (Graphic historical fiction. 10-13)