Reading Olympics Review: Sunny Side Up by, Jennifer L. Holm

Hello! My name is Bubba Lousie and I am part of my school’s Reading Olympics team. Do you know what Reading Olympics is?

What is Reading Olympics?

The Reading Olympics program is designed to encourage children to read more by helping them discover the joy and excitement of reading and talking about books. Using a team format, students get to share with their friends the challenge of growing the quantity of books they read as well as increasing their exposure to a variety of writing styles and topics.

Everyone on my team needs to read four books from our reading list so that we can answer questions about them during our upcoming challenge.

The first book I am reading is Sunny Side Up by, Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm. It is a graphic novel. In this post, I will tell you about the book, give you a review and then give you some study questions that you can use for your Reading Olympics competition.

When is a summer vacation not really a summer vacation?

Sunny Lewin has been packed off to Florida to live with her grandfather for the summer. At first she thought Florida might be fun — it is the home of Disney World, after all. But the place where Gramps lives is no amusement park. It’s full of . . . old people. Really old people. Luckily, Sunny isn’t the only kid around. She meets Buzz, a boy who is completely obsessed with comic books, and soon they’re having adventures of their own: facing off against golfball-eating alligators, runaway cats, and mysteriously disappearing neighbors. But the question remains — why is Sunny down in Florida in the first place? The answer lies in a family secret that won’t be secret to Sunny much longer. . .

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Sunny Side Up is about a girl named Sunny who has come to live with her Gramps in Florida for part of the summer.

My favorite character was Sunny because she seems like a really nice person and funny. Plus, we have a lot in common. We both have short hair and we want to go to Disney. We also both have two brothers.

Sunny Side Up is a graphic novel. The pictures really helped me understand what was going on. I thought they were really good and made the book even more fun.

I thought Sunny was really funny! Here’s a quote from Sunny Side Up that made me laugh! When she was looking at the shampoo magazine she said:

What if there was a shampoo that made everything terrific? Terrific Music, Terrific posters, Terrific Rug, Terrific brother! One that doesn’t cry all the time.

I would love if there was a shampoo that made my brothers “terrific.”

I would recommend Sunny Side Up because I thought the book was really good. And l think lots of other people would enjoy it!

I give this book 4 Sips

Potential Reading Olympics Questions

This section is designed to help students who are reading Sunny Side Up as a part of Reading Olympics. Reviewing these questions can help them to remember details of the book when it comes time for competition.

Warning! These questions will contain spoilers for the book!

Setting

When does this book take place? The summer of 1976. The United States is celebrating the bicentennial or 200th birthday.
What state does Gramps live in? Florida
What is the state nickname for Florida? The Sunshine State
What is the name of the retirement community where Gramps lives? Pine Palms
Where does Sunny sleep at Gramps’ house? A hide-a-bed in Gramps couch.

Main Character: Sunny

Where does Sunny live when she is not with Gramps? Pennsylvania
How old is Sunny? Eleven
What grade is Sunny in? 5th
What does Sunny do to her hair before she leaves for Florida? She gets it cut short.
What super power does Sunny want? Invisibility.

Main Character: Gramps

What bad habit does Sunny help Gramps overcome? Smoking.
Where does Gramps hide his cigarettes? In a cereal box.

Other Characters

Who is Sunny’s best friend in Florida? Buzz
Who is Myra? She is a 98-year-old resident of Pine Palms.
What are Sunny’s brothers’ names? Dale and Teddy. Dale is the older brother. Teddy is a baby.
Who is Miss Sniff? She is a cat.
What are the names of “The Girls” and who are they? Teezy and Ethel and they live at Pine Palms.
Who is Big Al? He is an alligator.

Plot Points

What was the first thing Sunny and her Gramps did? They got Sunny a visitor pass to the Pine Palms.
What do Sunny and Buzz do together to earn money? They pick up golf balls for the pro-shop.
What do they do with the money that they earn? They buy comic books.
What gift did “the girls” bring Sunny? “The girls” brought Sunny a doll toilet paper holder.
Who did Sunny picture as the Hulk? Sunny pictured her brother as the Hulk.
Why didn’t Sunny understand the Hulk? It was hard to tell if he was bad or good.
Why did Sunny like Swap Thing? He did not have any disguises or secrets.
What did Dale teach Sunny? Dale taught Sunny how to drive.
Why was Sunny sent to Florida? Sunny was sent to Florida so her parents could get Dale help and she wouldn’t have to see it.
Why did Sunny think her parents sent her to Florida? She made things worse by causing big trouble for Dale.
How did they find Miss Sniff? They found Miss Sniff by opening a can of tuna.
What happened during Dale and his dad’s fight? Sunny was punched by Dale.
What did Dale teach Sunny to do? Drive a car, even though she wasn’t old enough!
What did Sunny think was most exciting about Buzz’s house? There was a library of comic books.
Where was Sunny and her family when Dale and her dad got in a fight? They were at the 4th of July fireworks.
What time do Gramps, “the girls,” and Sunny leave for the dinner buffet? 4:00PM
What did “the girls” have Sunny take from the dinner buffet? “The girls” had Sunny take a roll and butter. They said she might be hungry later.
Why did Sunny want the perfect lunch box? She wouldn’t have a good year at school if she didn’t.
What happened when Buzz and Sunny found Beethoven? Beethoven’s owner gave a nickel to each of them.
Why was Sal worried about Myra? Myra was gone all day.
Where did Sunny find Myra? At the bus stop
What was Gramps last big plan for Sunny’s time in Florida? They went to Disney World.
What gift did Buzz give Sunny before she left? Buzz gave Sunny a Swamp Thing Comic.

We hope this book summary, review and Q&A helps you get ready for your Reading Olympics competition. Good luck to everyone!

Meet the Blogger

Meet Bubba Louise

Is Bubba Louise my real name? Nope. Do I love to read and be creative? Yep. I also loves Roblox, Pop Its and my dog Elsa (#elsathebookstagrammingdog). I am also anxiously awaiting my acceptance letter to Katmere Academy.

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