Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

"Art Club" (A Graphic Novel) is such a fantastic children's graphic novel for elementary and middle grade kids! This novel is about a group of students who form an after-school club to save the Arts. It's such a powerful and inspiring book about embracing and pursuing your artistic and creative dreams even though everyone else is telling you "no."

The illustrations are fun, colourful, and engaging. Reading this book was such a treat.

I highly recommend this for teachers and parents for elementary and middle graders.

This is a super powerful graphic novel about the courage and tenacity to follow your dreams. How often have we heard that an art degree or a career in the arts won’t pay the bills? All too often students dreams of doodling and drawing and following an artistic path are squashed in middle school/high school.

I like that this novel makes amends for past mistakes. I cried a little at the end when his grandpa supported his dream too.

Highly recommend this one to all my art teacher friends and it should be in all middle school classrooms/libraries.

This is going to be a huge hit with my 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders! It's a delightful story of learning to work together and supporting each other. Art, video games, and proving mean teachers wrong -- what's not to like? I love the art style, too. This will be popular with the Doodleville and Cardboard Kingdom fans, I think. Many thanks for the opportunity to read and review!

LOOOOOVED THIS!!! Seeing kids embrace art and setting aside the awful idea that art will get you nowhere is so nice to read.

My favorite part of this middle grade graphic novel was the great art! Dale is a cool main character and I was obsessed with Kya’s voluminous hair. The story felt a bit expected for me as Dale defends his interest in art and strives to fund and keep afloat an after school Art Club. Unfortunately, this graphic novel didn’t keep my interest and felt a bit of a chore to get through at times.

I requested this for consideration for Book Riot's All the Books podcast for its release date. After sampling several books out this week, I decided to go with a different book for my review.

While the concepts of this book was good the execution left something to be desired. I believe that I would need to explain things several different times for the students to grasp the flow of the novel.

This was a cute graphic novel about a group of kids that are trying to get an Art Club started at their school. But their principle is set against it. Will they be able to convince him and start the club? Honestly, I liked this but it felt outdated. If this was set in like the 90s or early 2000s I think having an adult be concerned about your art career would make more sense. But in this day and age it felt like it wasn't really an issue.

Rounding up to five stars. This was a nice middle grade graphic novel with really lovely drawings. The end of the book includes some really interesting behind the scenes information about creating comics/graphic novels. The story was sweet and inspiring, if a little unsubtle re the villain (although maybe that unsubtlety is ideal for the intended audience). If the art club continues their adventures, I'd pick up the next volume to keep reading with my kids.

I received a digital Advance Reader Copy from NetGalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers in exchange for an honest review.

Dale loves art, especially comics. His grandmother introduced him to comics and encouraged his interests, but since she died, it seems like no one understands. His grandfather and teachers at school think Dale is not serious about hsi future, and that he needs to concentrate more on school and less on his "hobbies." But when he gets and assignment to research future careers, Dale is determined to prove to everyone that art can be a "real job."
An inspiring story about following your passions and working with others to achieve your goals.

Art Club by Rashad Doucet is precious. The story of a kid who fights back against the idea that art won't take you anywhere is not new, but this collection of characters coming together to fight back and show that art takes many forms was refreshing and wonderful to read. The illustrations are beautifully done and made me want to see more of these characters in the future.

I have not read anything by this author before, but I will definitely be looking out for their work in the future. I loved seeing the story unfold and seeing the characters grow.

When faced with a class assignment to pick a lucrative future career, Dale knows his teacher will not approve of his dream to create video games, so he is on a mission to prove the arts are important and a worthy career choice. He enlists his best friend, an artsy teacher, and some other unsuspecting characters to form an art club and prove that it is possible to make money doing what you love.

I loved the emphasis on standing up for what you believe and showing that the arts are equally important to other academic studies. I cannot wait to share Dale’s inspiring story with my students.

Not as easy for me to get into as some books I’ve read and I’m not sure why. All in all it’s a fine graphic novel, just didn’t connect with it.

The arts are worth fighting for, and that is the truth! A wonderful graphic novel for middle grade students who want to fight for what is right and for young artists, author Rashad Doucet writes about his own life as a young person who was bored with school and loved the arts.

Beautiful illustrations pop off the page and bring to life this artist’s journey. A great antagonist and problems to be solved, this text is cute, fun, and inspiring for anyone wanting to make a difference.

Thank you #NetGalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for the ARC. With a release date of May 14, 2024, this will make a great addition to every library.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this graphic novel.

The Good:
-a super cute story about middle school students starting an art club at a Science and Math school.
-character designs are fantastic
-positive message about friendship, family, and striving for your goals

The Meh:
-I wish the art was a little more refined, but maybe that's because it's an ARC?
-The pacing is a little slow. The actual Art Club didn't show up until almost halfway through the story.

Drawing inspiration from the author’s own childhood, the story follows Dale Donavan, a kid with a passion for art, who decides to challenge the perception that art leads nowhere in life. Facing discouragement from his grandfather and a school indifferent to funding arts programs, Dale hatches a plan to start an after-school art club. With a team of creative students, he aims to prove naysayers wrong, especially his stubborn vice principal. The novel explores the importance of art and the pursuit of dreams, addressing the unfortunate reality of schools cutting down on arts education. Art Club is not just a delightful read but also an important reminder of the significance of art in our lives.

ART IS SO IMPORTANT! This book is so important, too! First of all, I wasn’t aware that some school are taking art away from students. That shouldn’t even be allowed! Art class (not club but class) should be in every school! Anyway, secondly, this book has such an important message. I love it!! And I hate that mean vise principle!

A fun and appropriate graphic novel for all ages.

Dale is such a lovable little kid who can enlighten the hearts of all. There’s many warming moments that remind us that art is more than a hobby, art is life, art breathes life into a person.