The Cartoonists Club

Gr 5 Up–A powerful team of comics creators have joined forces to inspire and educate young people to better understand the medium and provide a base of sequential storytelling tools for readers to write their own comics. This informative graphic novel is fashioned around a group of students who gather for an afterschool cartooning club led by their school librarian. Through the framework of the students learning about how comics are made, the creative team provides a great and approachable interpretation of McCloud’s previous book, Understanding Comics—a classic tome in graphic novel education—and get the same points across for a younger audience without dumbing things down. Telgemeier and McCloud cleverly use panels and an art style that pops to explain the depth of comics art, and make many sophisticated ideas accessible to young readers.