The Cartoonists Club Review

 

 ...and also drawing in general.

It's been a while since I read something from Raina Telgemeier! I read Smile, Sisters, and Drama way back before I started my blog. So how is this newer book of hers that she wrote with Scott McCloud?

The Cartoonists Club is about a group of friends: Mikayla, Howard, Art, and Lynda that form a club at their school dedicated to writing, drawing, and sharing comics. Each friend has some sort of struggle when it comes to writing and drawing their stories. Mikayla has a lot of ideas but usually doesn't know how to get started. Howard often times gets in trouble for focusing too much on comics and not enough on his schoolwork. Art just likes using their hands and creating things in general, and wants to hone their skills. Lynda is very shy to share what she draws because she thinks she's either not good enough or what she draws is too personal. 

Luckily, with the help of their school librarian, Ms. Fatima (yes, that's her name!), the friends learn to improve their craft, and they even get to have a booth at a mini comics convention in their town! 

This was very fun to read. Aside from the main story, there were a lot of pages dedicated to teaching the reader (the characters even break the 4th wall to do this) the basics of comic making. 

So I gave it 5 stars! I think it's neat how it's a graphic novel teaching kids about graphic novels and comic making in general. Inception!