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Cover of Sunny Figures It Out
Graphic · ages 8–12

Sunny Figures It Out

Written by Jennifer L. Holm · Illustrated by Matthew Holm

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Book 6 in SunnyView the full series

Bestseller

A later Sunny volume about friendship, maybe-dating and figuring out what changing feelings mean. It keeps the series' warm, funny graphic style while moving Sunny into more tween emotional territory.

  • Best for8–12
  • FormatGraphic
  • Length224 pp
  • Read aloud~1 hr45 min
Where to buyPaperback
Amazon
See price at Amazon

Affiliate links — buy through these retailers and we earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you.

The vibe

What it’s like.

Style

  • Conversational
  • Comedic

Tone

  • Funny
  • Warm
  • Heartwarming
  • Thought provoking
  • Cosy

Themes

On the page1970s, dating questions, first crush, middle school, friendship changes, growing up, tony, movies

Experience meters

Energy3/ 5
Humour3/ 5
Scariness1/ 5
Peril1/ 5
Wonder2/ 5
Cosiness4/ 5
Emotional intensity3/ 5
Conceptual intensity3/ 5

What’s it about?

The story.

Sunny loves spending time with Tony. They go to the movies, talk at school and support each other when things feel difficult. But now Sunny has a new question to figure out: are they dating? And if they are, what does that actually mean? This sixth Sunny graphic novel continues Sunny's 1970s middle-school story with a gentle, age-appropriate look at changing friendship, early crushes and the awkward uncertainty of growing up. The book is still funny, visual and highly readable, but its emotional focus is a little older than the earliest entries. Sunny is not dealing with dramatic romance; she is trying to understand labels, feelings, friendship and whether a relationship changes who she is or how she behaves. It is a useful, low-peril choice for readers ready for tween social questions in a realistic graphic novel format.

Fit check

Right for your child?

Where it lands by age

  • 1
  • 3
  • 5
  • 7
  • 9
  • 11
  • 13
  • Best fit · 8–12
  • Read aloud · 8–11
  • Independent · 8–12

Prose load

Light

Visual support

Very high

Reluctant-reader friendly

Very

Read-aloud quality

Strong

Works well for

  • Reading aloud
  • Bedtime
  • Reluctant readers
Low sensitivityNo content warnings

Nothing in the book is likely to concern most parents. Safe to recommend without preview.

Bedtime suitability

4 / 5 · Bedtime-friendly

Sensitive-child

4 / 5 · Good fit

Graphic intensity

1 / 5 · None

Best for

  • First crush story
  • Middle school story
  • Realistic graphic novel
  • Raina telgemeier next
  • Reluctant readers

Avoid if

  • Has not read earlier sunny
  • Dislikes crush storylines
  • Wants action adventure

Particularly good for children who are…

  • Reluctant reader
  • Making friends
  • Struggling with reading
  • Moving to secondary school
  • Low self esteem

In the classroom

How it works in school.

A warm graphic-novel series about growing up — a reluctant-reader favourite that opens talk about family and change.

Classroom role

  • Classroom library
  • Discussion and empathy

A book children love that happens to support school — never a stand-in for the texts a class is taught with. Reviewed for the classroom · June 2026.

Why it lands

Why they love it.

Why kids love it

The specific recognition is asking 'are we dating?' — Sunny and Tony spending time together, the labels and feelings starting to matter, the uncertainty of what changing closeness means. The Sunny for a tween who's started asking the same questions.

  • Friendship and belonging
  • Being special or chosen
  • Family belonging

Why parents love it

The Sunny for the early-crush phase — Tony and Sunny, are-they-dating questions, gentle realistic graphic novel for an older tween. Best read in series sequence; rewards readers who've grown with Sunny.

  • Nostalgia
  • Conversation starter
  • Shared humour
  • Quick to read

In the series

Sunny.

6 books · open the series →

About the creators

About the creators.

JL

Jennifer L. Holm

Writer · United States · b. 1968

Jennifer L. Holm is an American author born in 1968, with three Newbery Honors (Our Only May Amelia, Penny from Heaven, Turtle in Paradise) for her historical-fiction middle-grade novels. She is also the co-creator (with her brother, illustrator Matthew Holm) of the long-running Babymouse and Squish graphic-novel series, bright, gag-paced early graphic novels for ages 6–10, and the more recent Sunny series of semi-autobiographical 1970s-set middle-grade graphic novels. Holm's voice is warm, observational and emotionally generous across both her prose and graphic-novel work. A core American middle-grade author covering both historical-realist novels and early-graphic-novel territory.

More from Jennifer L. Holm →
MH

Matthew Holm

Illustrator · United States

Matthew Holm is an American cartoonist who, with his sister Jennifer L. Holm as writer, co-created the long-running Babymouse and Squish early-graphic-novel series, bright, pink-and-black gag-paced comics about an irrepressible imaginative mouse (Babymouse) and a phlegmatically optimistic amoeba (Squish). The Babymouse books have been a US elementary-school staple for over fifteen years. Matthew also illustrates the Sunny graphic-novel series (also with Jennifer). His style is clean, character-led and densely jokey, with strong appeal for ages 6–10, particularly for emerging graphic-novel readers transitioning from picture books.

More from Matthew Holm →

If you liked this

Three ways out of this book.

If you liked this, try…

Lateral matches. Same shelf, different texture.

Come into this from…

Easier or preparing reads — perfect lead-ins.

Where to go next…

Escalation reads — a step up in scale, silliness, or stakes.

More like this…

Books that share themes and topics with this one.

Last reviewed · April 2026Suggest a correctionHow we recommend
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