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Cover of Sunny Rolls the Dice
Graphic · ages 8–12

Sunny Rolls the Dice

Written by Jennifer L. Holm · Illustrated by Matthew Holm

Book 3 of 6 in SunnyView the full series

Bestseller list

A particularly useful Sunny volume for children navigating coolness, friendship shifts and finding their own interests. The Dungeons & Dragons thread gives it a lovely creativity-and-belonging angle.

  • Best for8–12
  • FormatGraphic
  • Length224 pp
  • Read aloud~1 hr45 min
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The vibe

What it’s like.

Style

  • Conversational
  • Comedic

Tone

  • Funny
  • Warm
  • Heartwarming
  • Thought provoking
  • Cosy

Themes

On the page1970s, dungeons and dragons, middle school, friendship changes, trying to be cool, role playing games, peer pressure, finding your people

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 is in middle school, and everyone seems to be changing at once. Her best friend Deb is suddenly interested in fashion, boys, makeup and being cool, while Sunny feels increasingly unsure where she fits. She likes her friend, but she is not sure she wants to become the sort of girl Deb seems to expect. Then Sunny discovers Dungeons & Dragons, where imagination, role-play and a group of new friends offer a different way to feel confident. This third Sunny graphic novel is lighter in sensitivity than the first two, shifting towards friendship, identity and the pressure to perform coolness. It is funny, relatable and very accessible, especially for children who feel out of step with peer expectations. The 1970s setting adds period flavour, but the emotional situation is timeless: growing up means working out which version of yourself feels true.

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

  • Middle school story
  • Dungeons and dragons
  • Finding your people
  • Realistic graphic novel
  • Reluctant readers

Avoid if

  • Has not read earlier sunny
  • Wants action adventure
  • Dislikes school stories

Particularly good for children who are…

  • Making friends
  • Reluctant reader
  • Moving to secondary school
  • Low self esteem
  • Interested in art and creativity

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 weight is friendship drift — Sunny's best friend Deb suddenly into fashion and boys and being cool, Sunny finding her real people through a Dungeons & Dragons group. The Sunny for a tween whose friend group is splitting between cool and creative.

  • Friendship and belonging
  • Trickery and cleverness
  • Transformation

Why parents love it

The Sunny on finding your people through D&D — Deb pulling toward coolness, Sunny pulling toward role-play, the friendship gently parting. Useful for any child whose old best friend has started wanting something different. One of the lovelier Sunnys.

  • Nostalgia
  • Shared humour
  • Conversation starter
  • 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.

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Last reviewed · April 2026Suggest a correctionHow we recommend

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