February 6, 2024 by Little, Brown Ink
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Dale loves playing videos games and drawing, and thinks that school is boring. His father is deployed, and his mother is busy working as a nurse. His grandfather has moved in with the family after the death of the beloved grandmother, who was as interested in comics as Dale is. When Mr. Ruffin assigns a project on future careers, Dale doesn't know quite what to research. The message from both his family and his school has been very clear; art will not provide a job that pays well enough to have a stable life. Still, nothing else seems fun, so Dale decides to do his project on comic book creators. While researching different options, he decides that he really would like to have an art club at school. There was one years ago, but it was cut because of budgetary concerns. He and several friends, including basketball player and best friend Aren, art enthusiast Kya, and Mackenzie, who has to hide her involvement from her mother, who wants her to focus on math and science so she can be the first person in her family to go to college. The children approach one of the teachers, Miss Ja'nae, to be their faculty sponsor, since she was in an art club at the school years ago, but Mr. Ruffin shut it down. She is interested in the same video game that Dale enjoys, and eventually agrees to help. Mr. Ruffin has demanded that the club earn $500 to support itself, and lets them meet in a small, crowded room. Things go well, and the group is even approached by the local comic shop to help with their launch, but after Mr. Ruffin hears the kids arguing, he increases his demands to $1,000 for the club to earn to remain viable. Kya has an art show planned, and the kids work hard to earn money. Dale manages to get his grandfather on his side, but will the group be able to convince Mr. Ruffin that the art club is not a waste of their time?
Strengths: I'm a big fan of Children Doing Things, and it's good that Dale moves beyong the idea of playing video games all day to researching careers in art. He shows initiative in gathering enough people, persuading Miss Ja'nae to be their advisor, and in fundraising. He convinces his family that his pursuits have merit, and even stands up to Mr. Ruffin to make his voice heard. The art is colorful, and will appeal to students who like graphic novels and manga.
Weaknesses: Major in Latin, they said. You can get your PhD and teach Classics in college, they said. I'm really glad that art worked out for Mr. Doucet, but it doesn't work out for everyone. I wish someone had warned me that majoring in Latin was a bad idea. Pursuing something you love and not being able to find a stable, remunerative career in the field can make a person bitter. Really, really bitter. Mr. Ruffin isn't as evil as he's made out to be, looking at him from my perspective.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who like art and comics and have enjoyed Sells' Doodleville or Rodriguez and Bell's Doodles from the Boogie Down.
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