Colored by Lark Pien in subdued hues that subtly reflect Sunny’s state of mind, the sequential panels present both storylines in a mix of terse labels, brief dialogue, and, particularly, silent, effective reaction shots.įunny, poignant, and reassuringly upbeat by the end but free of glib platitudes or easy answers.Īt a time when death has become an acceptable, even voguish subject in children's fiction, Natalie Babbitt comes through with a stylistic gem about living forever. Less happily, interspersed flashbacks reveal the reason for the sudden change of plans by tracking her older brother Dale’s increasingly erratic behavior and drug abuse, leading up to an intervention in the wake of a violent incident. Happily, there is one other child around: Buzz, a groundskeeper’s boy, who turns her on to superhero comics and joins her in starting up a moderately lucrative business recovering golf balls and residents’ (illegal) lost cats. Instead of a trip to the shore with a friend, Sunny finds herself on a solo flight to stay with her genial grandfather-in a development where a trip to the post office is the day’s big outing, Walt Disney World is hours away, and her exposure to senior culture includes being fawned over by old ladies. In the hands of the sibling creators of Babymouse and Squish, even a story inspired by troubling circumstances in their own mid-1970s childhoods offers hilarious turns aplenty.
Clear dialogue bubbles, plenty of wordless spreads, and Matthew’s cartoons and beach-umbrella color palette keep Sunny’s story an upbeat one that readers will easily stick with.Family troubles temporarily strand 10-year-old Sunny in a Florida retirement community. Though Sunny will appeal to all kinds of readers, an authors’ note shares the Holms’ hope to let kids in similar situations know that it’s OK to feel sad and to talk about it. Woven into the Florida frolic though, through dated flashback images, is the real reason for Sunny’s last-minute visit: her older brother is struggling with addiction, and Sunny thinks she got him in trouble. The two wile away hours at the comics shop, find senior residents’ lost cats, and get chased by a local alligator-all in a summer day’s work. Soon Sunny meets Buzz, whose dad works at Gramps’ retirement resort, and thank goodness! Buzz introduces Sunny to Swamp Thing, Spiderman, and Batman, and a whole universe opens. Unfortunately, staying with Gramps means a creaky hide-a-bed, early dinners, and, well, tons of old people. In August of 1976, 10-year-old Sunny’s parents send her to Florida to visit Gramps.
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