Adventures in Cartooning: How to Turn Your Doodles Into Comics [Paperback]

James Sturm (Author), Andrew Arnold (Author), Alexis Frederick-Frost (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 31, 2009 | Age Level: 6 and up | Grade Level: 1 and up

In this action-packed cartooning adventure, kids will have as much fun making comics as reading them! 

 

Once upon a time . . . a princess tried to make a comic.  And with the help of a magical cartooning elf, she learned how – well enough to draw her way out of an encounter with a dangerous dragon, near-death by drowning, and into her very own adventure!  Like the princess, young readers will discover that they already have the drawing and writing skills it takes to make a comic – they just need a little know-how.  And Adventures in Cartooning supplies just that.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Created by the Center for Cartoon Studies' director and two of his former students, this how-to-make-comics book for young readers takes a couple of unusual tacks. For one thing, it skips the usual rudiments of how to draw in favor of explaining the formal characteristics of comics: panels, balloons, lettering and so on. For another, it doubles as a story—about a knight on a quest for a bubblegum–chewing dragon, and the magic elf who teaches the knight all about the joy of cartooning. It's a cute premise, and the art's simple, bold brushstrokes and flat colors are zippy and fun. Sturm and company even sneak in a few comics in-jokes (when several characters fall into water, the elf exclaims I guess this would be called a SPLASH panel!). Unfortunately, the plot and the tutorial material repeatedly stumble over each other: the goofy twists in the story occasionally have a bit of instruction shoehorned in, but more often don't serve any educational purpose—or simply seem like the result of stream-of-consciousness jam cartooning. And kids looking for cartooning guidance may be frustrated to find that the book takes its readers' ability to draw expressively for granted. (Apr.)
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From Booklist

*Starred Review* Not quite a how-to book, as the cover might suggest, this is rather a stupendous new high for children’s graphic novels, spearheaded by comics maestro Sturm (Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow, 2007). Ostensibly, this is the adventure of an eager knight, a sweet-toothed horse, and a magic elf hunting down a gum-chewing dragon, and those reading for the adventure itself will not be disappointed, filled as it is with humor, action, and a great girl-empowering twist. But along the way, lessons in the language of sequential art are woven seamlessly into the narrative, explaining the basics of how elements such as panels and word balloons work, while concluding bonus features offer specifics on terminology (like gutters and stems) and common symbols (like speed lines). Newcomers Andrew Arnold and Alexis Frederick-Frost, using varying page compositions to keep the sizable volume visually captivating, have constructed a tale that works just as well as a read-aloud for the very young as it does a lesson for everyone from fans of the form to the wholly uninitiated. As an examination of the medium, it’s a supremely worthy spiritual legacy to Scott McCloud’s seminal Understanding Comics (1993). As a straight-up graphic adventure, it may be the best of the year. Preschool-Grade 5. --Jesse Karp

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  
• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: First Second (March 31, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596433698
• ISBN-13: 978-1596433694
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 9.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #84,504 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #19 in Books > Children's Books > Arts, Crafts & Music > Art > Cartooning

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great read that would inspire anyone to pick up a pencil!, April 7, 2009

By 

K. J. DellAntonia "raisingdevils.com" (New Hampshire, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Adventures in Cartooning: How to Turn Your Doodles Into Comics (Paperback)

It sounds like a how-to--and in its own way, it is--but it's also a really funny, laugh-out-loud story that, on top of being just plain a good read, teaches the basic tropes of graphic novels/cartoons in the cleverest possible way. It would inspire any kid to pick up a pencil (in fact, it worked for me!) It's going to be my go-to birthday gift for sometime to come, along with a pad, pencils and erasers. I just ordered a spare copy and sent one to a friend.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Plenty of Emphasis on Imagination and Storytelling, November 23, 2009

By 

GraphicNovelReporter.com (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Adventures in Cartooning: How to Turn Your Doodles Into Comics (Paperback)

When a princess throws down her pencil and exclaims that she doesn't draw well enough to make comics, the Magic Cartooning Elf comes to her rescue, offering to show her how it's done. He begins by introducing the story of a brave knight who sets out to rescue a beautiful princess from a dragon. A bubblegum-chewing dragon that flies, breathes fire, and drools in its sleep.

But before the brave knight can save the princess from the dragon, he must first establish himself in space, and to do this, he needs to be in a panel. And in the panel, he must move and communicate with the reader through dialog and thought balloons and sound effects, and the layout of each panel must flow in the direction the reader reads. Basic art lessons like these are layered effortlessly into the story and the reader quickly forgets that this is a how-to book. The simple Ed Emberley-type shapes used to create the knight, dragon, elf, and backgrounds are all unintimidating and easily imitated by novice artists.

As the story progresses, the concepts are less frequently explained using dialog. Instead, the techniques are illustrated, showing rather than telling how to create depth and motion via shadow or speed lines. The knight is wearing a helmet, so he has no facial expressions. Therefore, the artist uses body language and expressive symbols to convey emotion, including tilting the head to show laughter or using wavy lines where the knight's legs once were to indicate fear.

Plenty of emphasis is placed on imagination and storytelling. The story is told and the instruction given with plenty of humor that will appeal to kids. That the plot is farfetched and childlike serves the book's purpose, giving kids permission to tell their own story rather than trying to write one that will satisfy the adults around them. An example of a child-drawn comic is at the back of the book and is the perfect end note, as it makes clear the point that anyone, even a seven-year-old, draws well enough to make comics. Adventures in Cartooning is highly recommended for kids. It's also recommended for adults who aren't sure why comics work the way they do or who are afraid to make stories of their own.

-- Eva Volin

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's an awesome book, August 21, 2010

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Adventures in Cartooning: How to Turn Your Doodles Into Comics (Paperback)

I read the book and when I finished it I was so happy. I didnt want it to end. Its very funny and entertaining. I think all kids will enjoy it. It teaches you alot about cartooning and the characters are so funny that I laughed out loud. I think everyone in the world should buy it. I give it 5 stars. If 1000 more came out I would buy all of them. Buy it today!!!