A “Sunny” Day with Mathew Holm
Illustrator and author of the popular children’s storybook Babymouse series, Matthew Holm visited ISB to talk to 6th Graders about his work on the best-selling Sunny graphic novels that he writes with his sister, Jenny. To tell the origin story of the Sunny series, he took students back to his childhood, “a long time ago in a far, far away suburb in the 70s!” Matthew talked about the siblings’ unique process and the interesting back and forth that leads to the creation of each Sunny book, including everything from writing to storyboarding to drawing to working with a publisher and editor. He also shared about the most recent book in the series Sunny Makes Her Case, in which the protagonist, after trying her hand at a bunch of other extracurricular activities, forms a debate team — because arguing is one thing she knows she’s really good at! This storyline hit home for one 6th Grader in the room, who just started a Middle School Debate Club!
