Adventures in Cartooning: Christmas Special!

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Overview

Christmas is coming! The Magic Cartooning Elf and his friend the Knight help Santa make a Christmas comic. But will kids put away their iPads, smart phones, and video games long enough to read a book? 

The latest in the beloved Adventures In Cartooning series, Adventures in Cartooning: Christmas Special will inspire children to pick up a pencil and draw up a snow storm! No charger or batteries are needed for ...

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More About This Book

Overview

Christmas is coming! The Magic Cartooning Elf and his friend the Knight help Santa make a Christmas comic. But will kids put away their iPads, smart phones, and video games long enough to read a book? 

The latest in the beloved Adventures In Cartooning series, Adventures in Cartooning: Christmas Special will inspire children to pick up a pencil and draw up a snow storm! No charger or batteries are needed for this terrific holiday gift.

 

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Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly
Kids are asking for high-tech gifts instead of old-fashioned ones, and Santa is not all that happy about it (“Instead of toys, we elves write code,” a helper tells him. “Then we connect to the server... and upload!”). Santa hits on the idea of a Christmas comic book, enlisting the help of a certain elf and knight (seen in the two previous Adventures in Cartooning books). Along the way, readers get an uproarious lesson in what makes a great—or at least salable—holiday story (“This book is as good as the Scrooge—and the Grinch!!!” boasts the knight. “I don’t know about that, but it’ll do in a pinch!!!” responds the elf) and how comics are made. As smart as it is funny—and it’s very funny. Ages 4–up. (Sept.)
School Library Journal
Gr 2–5—While readers learned the mechanics of creating comics in Adventures in Cartooning (Roaring Brook, 2009), the main focus here is creating a story. Santa, lamenting kids' online distractions and the demand for electronic gadgets, decides that a comic would be the perfect solution to his gift-giving crisis. Enter the Cartooning Elf, who insists on speaking in rhyme, much to the annoyance of fellow returning character (Princess) Knight. Other familiar faces and scenes from the previous book appear and those elements, combined with MIT-educated, technophile elves who would rather write code and send gifts electronically than use the traditional reindeer and sleigh, produce rollicking, hilarious results. Best of all is the encouragement to imagine, draw, and create. Hand this title to those looking for a funny story and budding artists during the holidays and beyond.—Joanna K. Fabicon, Los Angeles Public Library
Kirkus Reviews
This lightweight, mildly humorous story about Santa, his favorite elf and a Christmas knight advises kids to draw their own comic strips, though no practical help is offered in drawing instruction. Santa and his Magical Cartooning Elf decide to create a Christmas comic book for distribution to children on Christmas Eve. They are assisted by a knight who has assorted adventures with a yeti, some giant children and a dragon who is pressed into service to deliver the completed comic books. On Christmas morning, children around the world are inspired to start making their own comics. Young readers are encouraged to send their original comics showing favorite things, places or foods to the Center for Cartoon Studies in Vermont, presumably for the next installment in the series. The rhyming text is a bit singsong, with some corny puns and some funny asides, but it also uses a hip, self-deprecating tone and current computer terms that let kids know the authors are up on the latest. The cartoon illustrations use varying panel layouts with hand-lettered speech balloons and backgrounds in cool green to set off the holiday reds. Wrapped up with some drawing paper and pens, this clever Christmas cartoon construction might spark some creative projects. (Graphic picture book. 5-10)
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781596437302
  • Publisher: First Second
  • Publication date: 9/18/2012
  • Pages: 64
  • Sales rank: 147,085
  • Age range: 6 - 10 Years
  • Product dimensions: 9.80 (w) x 7.30 (h) x 0.30 (d)

Meet the Author

James Sturm is the author of award-winning graphic novels for children and adults, including James Sturm's America, Market Day, The Golem’s Mighty Swing and Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow. He is the founder of the Center for Cartoon Studies. He lives in White River Junction, Vermont. 

A graduate of the Center for Cartoon Studies, Alexis Frederick-Frost lives outside of Boston and works at a library.  His first comic, La Primavera, was the recipient of a Xeric Grant. 

Andrew Arnold is a graduate of the Center of Cartoon Studies: Adventures in Cartooning is the result of a class assignment given to him and Alexis Frederick-Frost.  He lives in New York and works in publishing. 

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