Adventures in Cartooning

by Alexis Frederick-Frost, James Sturm, Andrew Arnold

Book Overview

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... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1596433698
• Release Date: March 2009
• Publisher: First Second
• Length: 109 Pages
• Weight: 0.87 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.4" x 0.4" x 10.0"

Customer Reviews

We love this book!

I got this book mostly for me, a parent, to help me create little story books (or comics, if you will) for my kids, ages 4 and 5. I flipped through the book very briefly in a bookstore before buying it. I thought my kids might be interested in it a bit, but I got it for me. Well, after I got it home, they wanted me to read it to them, and I was surprised by how good the storyline is. They love it! All of the explanations about how comics work (i.e. when the Magic Elf explains what a panel is and what its function is, etc etc) were as interesting to them as the story itself. They like figuring out how things work, and learning how a storybook works is just as interesting to them as learning about wolves or dinosaurs or princesses or whatever. The only problem is that whenever I get the book out to look at the information in the back about how to draw the characters, the kids immediately want me to read to them, so I haven't been able to start creating my own story for them. :) In conclusion, this books works very well on two levels: it works well as a storybook for kids who are too young to be creating their own comics, and it also works well to explain how to make comics if that's what you want to do. It's great!

FUNNY!!!

Very FUN and Funny. I liked this book a lot. This book is about a magic elf, a knight, and a candy loving horse. The horse loves candy a little too much!

Plenty of Emphasis on Imagination and Storytelling

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

If you've ever wanted to draw comics, but don't think you have any talent, this book might make you

If you've ever wanted to draw comics, but don't think you have any talent, this book might make you think again. Everyone has been known to doodle on paper now and then, especially during math class. There are many simple shapes that can be utilized to make a more complicated cartoon than you ever thought possible. Take for example, a tower. It consists of a rectangle with a triangle on top. Slap on a simple window toward the top and you have a tower. That is very difficult. Other little items to consider (easy does it here!) are fish, trees, candy, clouds, rocks, a shield a sword, bats, mountains, water and an onion. Doesn't that just sound like a recipe for success? Just a step at a time and you'll be a novice graphic artist in no time. You'll follow along with "a BRAVE and EAGER knight" and a "MAGICAL ELF!" The elf made a pact with the knight. In exchange for a dragon, he asked the knight to let him tell him "about comics and cartooning." The first things he taught him about were panels, or the "little picture boxes" that comics are made up of. Those little boxes keep down the clutter and enable the reader to "see how things happen over time." You'll learn about the purpose of panels, how they indicate time or scenery changes and how they can change size. You'll learn that "words are as important as pictures," what thought balloons are, the purpose of long panels and more! This book does not specifically instruct the budding graphic novelist in a step by step manner, but rather incorporates the instruction in the story line. The magical elf and the knight may not inspire the upper age range of its intended audience, age 12, but would grab the eight or nine-year-old immediately. The story was fun and will encourage the comic lover to pick up his or her drawing supplies and attempt to recreate some of the work in this book. If you purchase this book, you might want to pick up a nice art kit and PLENTY of paper. The recipient will be sure to have a ROARING good time with this book!

A great read that would inspire anyone to pick up a pencil!

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.