My Life as a Cartoonist by Janet Tashjian

Pages: 259
Intended Audience: Tweens and up
Genre: Real life/Bullying
Notes for Parents: Has some mature moments involving bullying.

The Back Cover

My copy had no description. From Janettashjian.com:
There’s a new kid in Derek Fallon’s class. His name is Umberto and he uses a wheelchair. Derek’s family is still fostering Frank the monkey, and Derek thinks it would be great to train Frank to assist Umberto. But Derek quickly realizes that Umberto is definitely not looking for any help. Derek soon becomes the butt of Umberto’s jokes. On top of that, Umberto starts stealing Derek’s cartoon ideas and claiming them as his own. How did Derek get himself into this mess, and how can he find a way out before he is the laughingstock of school? The answer may very well be his cartoon strip—SUPER FRANK!

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

This book is part of the author’s My Life as a… series.

What’s good?

This is a compassionate look at both sides of the bullying issue. It was a brave choice to use a disabled boy as a bully, but very effective as the reader can easily feel the bully’s desperation to fit it and the victim’s frustration at being singled out. While bullying is a common theme these days, the story feels fresh and the characters are original. While it was apparent that there would be a happy ending, the plot flowed nicely and kept me guessing as to how everything would be resolved. An added bonus is the entertaining illustrations in the margin that highlight vocabulary words.
Best Part: Derek’s description of his feelings for his dog (pg. 258)

What isn’t good?

There isn’t a lot of character development (this is the third book in the series so perhaps we know more about the main characters from previous books) and the resolution came a little easily, but was still satisfying.
Worst part: None.

Recommendation þþþþo

This is a quick and easy read with strong themes of friendship and compassion. It’s a well rounded story that includes the parents, teachers, and classmates, illustrating that everyone has a role to play. Definitely recommended.

Tashjian, Janet. My Life as a Cartoonist. New York: Henry Holt & Co., 2013. (Hardcover)