DOODLEVILLE

In a world where art literally comes alive, a girl must figure out how to create harmony between her doodles and her friends.

Ever since she was little, Drew has loved drawing—a particularly exciting hobby in a world where art comes alive! Whether on a field trip to the Chicago Art Institute or at her parents’ diner, Drew’s cheerful character doodles like to escape from her sketchbook and get up to harmless shenanigans. Drew does the best she can to contain them without imprisoning them; she’s hung a large drawing of “Doodleville” on her bedroom wall to give them an enriching home. But when she adds a new doodle to her crew—Levi, short for Leviathan—and he becomes a threat to the safety of Art Club’s other creations, Drew must figure out how to create balance and harmony. Sell’s worldbuilding is simple and may leave some readers with questions, but he tells an engaging story that uses a fantastical idea to ponder real-world dilemmas: How do you cope when things feel out of control? How do you reduce harm, and how do you make amends for harm that you’ve caused? Characters are shaped a bit like bitmojis, with slightly oversized heads and skinny necks. Drew has pale skin and dark hair, and her friends are a diverse bunch in terms of racial presentation, pronouns, and gender presentations. Several pages of backmatter discuss the history of Doodleville and its denizens.

Will draw readers in and inspire doodles galore.