Drew is a young girl who has always loved drawing. At a young age she draws doodles that come alive. As she gets older, she’s self conscious that her doodles aren’t as impressive as the drawings created by the others in Art Club. Will her latest doodle change that?

This is a story about friendship, embracing your differences, and celebrating creativity. Readers who enjoyed Cardboard Kingdom and Witch Boy will love this book!

I thoroughly enjoyed this graphic novels and I know my students will too! Some have noted not being satisfied with the mix of realism and fantasy but I don't think that took away from the book for me. Kids are able to imagine alternate worlds where doodles can pop off the page - the intended age group doesn't necessarily question the plausibility of this happening in real life like adults might. This book features diverse characters and some deeper, more complex emotions/themes are explored. I could see it being a little bit scary for very young children but I think it's sweet spot would be 4th grade & up.

Overall, I had a lot of fun reading this and I'm excited to purchase for my elementary school library.

I received a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review - thank you NetGalley & Random House Children's :)

In "Doodleville," doodles are more than meets the eye and Drew's doodles are more than she can handle! When one of her playful creations becomes monstrous in response to her own anger, Drew and her friends unite all their artwork to save Doodleville from destruction. The characters in the book are all diverse and so are their art. Despite their differences, they all share a passion and connection with each other, trying to help Drew reign back her Leviathan. A book about creativity, self-esteem, friendship, and teamwork, it will surely appeal to its target audience.

Drew's doodles don't always do what she wants them to- literally! They slide off their pages and onto the walls, mischief following them whereever they go! Her art club friends get a little nervous when they see her most recent creation- a monster named Levi. Levi is a friendly monster- but that doesn't stop him from sowing havoc with her doodles and with her friends' art as well! The more upset Drew becomes, the darker Levi gets and the more trouble he causes. Can her friends help her tame Levi and figure out why he is causing so much trouble?!

I adore Chad Sell's work! Cardboard Kingdom is by far one of my favorite graphic novels, so I was excited to read Doodleville. I love all the fun characters and how each doodle has its own personality! I love how the friends in the story come together even when it would be easier to abandon Drew. I also think that Drew's focus on redemption for Levi rather than conquest is an important lesson!

I will absolutely be adding this to my middle school library and recommending it to my readers!

Graphic Novel
I received an electronic ARC from Random House Children's Publishers through NetGalley.
Sell's main character creates an entire city for her Doodles who come to life and explore. Unfortunately, they often get in trouble when they're out of the sketchbook or city drawing. One of Drew's drawings, the Leviathan, turns angry in response to Drew's emotions. She and her Art Club friends connect their characters and work to destroy the Leviathan. However, Drew realizes a better way to connect with it and help it balance the darker emotions. The resulting universe connects all of their characters and settings for all of the drawings.
The illustrations are highly detailed and the characters evolve throughout the book. This is book one of a series and I'm looking forward to the next one to continue the tale.

A very creative middle grade graphic novel that beats to the sound of its own drummer. The art in this is fantastic with images that feel 3-D and cool renditions of famous works found in the Art Institute of Chicago. Sell doesn’t waste a moment plopping readers into his idiosyncratic world where doodles can take on a life of their own. Reading this as an ebook on a smallish device isn’t the best way to experience the book perhaps. Some of those doodles are small and some double page spreads lose their grandeur. But very worthwhile and clever.

Drew is the proud creator of a series of doodles (who live in the aptly-named Doodleville) who can come to life. After one of her doodles, Leviathan, becomes a monster and starts eating her art club friends' own doodles, she has to learn to control her own dark emotions and reconcile with her friends. This is a fun, unique graphic novel, full of bright colors and a variety of doodle styles and characters. On a slightly deeper level, it is a story about friendship and overcoming one's own dark emotions. The storyline of Drew's dark emotions (stemming from when her doodles escape in an art museum and steal a hat from a portrait) is a little too vague and feels disjointed from the rest of the narrative. The friendship story is sweet and believable, though. 8 to 12.

A group of creative kids must learn to work together to fight a creation gone bad. The art is stunning and the message subtle. It is important to grow beyond ones comfort zone and collaborating with others can lead to many magical places.

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley and below are my honest opinions of the book.

I really enjoyed reading this ARC, I enjoyed Chad Sell's "The Cardboard Kingdom" so I was excited to hear about a new book from him. "Doodleville" is a great addition to any middle school library, it's illustrations connect famous paintings from Chicago's Art Institute with the art clubs own creations. Drew connects with the art club and learns a valuable lesson in friendship and teamwork. As someone who withdrew as a child into her own doodles, I enjoyed reading about another child who was able to create such a wonderful world. When Drew creates a leviathan it evolves into something that she never expected. Will her friends in the Art Club be able to help her learn how reign it into control before it destroys all of Doodleville?

Drew is an artist whose mischevious doodles come to life and create mild disaster in their wake. A story about friendship, asking for help, working together and the power of art.

This book warmed my creative heart. For any kid who ever felt a little different, maybe more than a little, this book is for you. In a world like our own, but where doodles and drawings come to life, things can get a little sticky. Drew loves doodling, and her doodles are her closest friends, but sometimes they cause trouble. Drew and her art club are now some of my favourite characters. I loved their differences and their art styles and how they worked with Drew throughout the book. I am only sad that I have this as an E-ARC because I wanted to hug this book close to my chest when I was done with it. Which is why I’m preordering it right now. And you should too!

I absolutely adored Cardboard Kingdom and was so excited when I saw this was coming out! It is a story of friendship and figuring out how to deal with frustration and sadness all with the magic of art!

I will definitely be purchasing this for my middle school library, but I also believe it is appropriate for upper elementary as well! It has great artwork specifically the parts in the art museum when you see the different art styles and how they are all mingled together. I thought that was a unique touch to the story! I also thought the author tackled inner conflict to a perfection! A lot of times kids/preteens don't understand what is going on, just that they are frustrated and sad as well as navigating friendships that are a bit rocky. This story touched on those things which is something important to have for that age group!

In the end, I highly recommend this graphic novel and can't wait to share it with my students and teachers!

First let me say that I will definitely put this in the hands of kids. Well, once libraries reopen and once people start coming back and once we start ordering books again and once this book is actually published! I think kids who like The Cardboard Kingdom will like this too, but stop one is definitely CK.

I struggled with the world-building in this comic. The story focuses on Drew, a tween girl who loves drawing doodles. In the universe of the book her curious doodles can jump off the page and interact with the wider world. Is Drew somehow special? No, because her doodles interact with the drawings of her fellow Art Club members and with paintings at the Art Institute of Chicago. Is this just a part of the world? If it is then why are people surprised that it happens? Is this kid stuff “coming to life” but in actuality it’s imagined? That was such a clear and awesome delineation in Cardboard Kingdom, and this book is missing that element to ground it in reality.

The story structure and reality of the universe in Doodleville are all over the place. Sell wants it to be both fantastic and realistic, but commits to neither enough for make it make sense. I really, really wanted to like this more, and there are so many ideas in it that I LOVE. Somehow when it's all combined it just falls flat.

Very cute! I liked the world this was set in, a place where drawings are alive and can leave their picture frames. Sometimes the art style was a little weird because it would go from the cutesy cartoon style to a little more detail in the characters' faces that felt a little unsettling, but for the most part I liked the art. I thought the characters were all cute and likeable and that Drew’s story of insecurity was relevant to its target audience. I also loved that Sell included a few pages in the back where he gave some backstory to some of the doodles, since some were real doodles he came up with as a kid:)

I really enjoyed Cardboard Kingdom by Sell so I was looking forward to this book. Like in Cardboard Kingdom, this story is fun and funny but has some depth to it. We have a five kids in an Art Club, each of who seems to already know about the Doodles. They can leave the paper they're drawn on and move about freely. I did somewhat feel like there was a back story we didn't get in the beginning but it didn't really impact the rest f the story. The art is good and it's nice and colorful. I think children who enjoyed Cardboard Kingdom with enjoy the first Doodleville installment (the end said "to be continued"). I'd hand this to ages 8 and above.

This was a great graphic novel! It follows Drew, who creates Doodles that come to life. They all live in Doodleville. In attempt to make something even better, Drew creates Leviathan aka Levi. When Levi stirs up trouble it's up to Drew, her art club classmates, and all their doodles to stop him. It was a really cute story that showcases both creativity, teamwork, and friendship. I also loved the colorful art style and the creativity in art that comes to life. I highly recommend to any middle grade reader who likes graphic novels. I can't wait to give to many readers in the future.

Oh wow. Not quite sure how to review this one. The author did a great job with the storyline of dealing with feelings and being true to yourself. Kids at that age struggle with figuring out who they are and how to deal with their mishmash of feelings. This book Is extremely diverse, not just ethnically but how they identify. (I am not sure of the right term, I am not savvy on all the LGBT lingo. This book definitely has this in it but it's not in-your-face.). I think certain kids will really enjoy this book... artsy kids, kids struggling to deal with who they are, kids struggling with friendships, etc. This book was a super fast read and the art was nice. I think a kid who enjoys this kind of thing will sit and read it in one session.