Drawing and Doodling

I was introduced to both of these books at a book fair recently.  Having someone in the family who likes to doodle, especially during class, I thought these both would have some instant appeal.  

The Doodles of Sam Dibble is written by J.Press and Illustrated by Michael Kline. The story covers a 28 hour period before Sam's birthday.  Sam gets himself into a little hot water by making a promise  that famous wrestler Demo Dan is coming to his party.  He even makes a deal with Max that if Demo Dan doesn't show, then he'll give him his Halloween candy his been saving up.  I really liked the illustrations and think this will have some instant kids appeal.  To give you an idea, there are chapters titled "An Underarm Fart Doodle, A Barf Doodle, A Superhero Shark Doodle, etc."  Even Albert Einstein makes an appearance.  The story is probably best for second to third graders who aren't quite ready for Diary of the Wimpy Kid and parents who don't mind the chapter titles.   It must be doing pretty well cause Double Trouble is already out and Robots Don't Clean Toilets is due out in July.  I give it three out of five.  My copy was from the public library.  

Stick Dog is by Tom Watson.  The story begins with the narrator explaining that Stick Dog is not named for a love of sticks but instead because Tom doesn't feel he can draw very well.  Even his art teacher says that Stick Dogs don't have "right angles.  If you draw stick dogs all your dog drawings will look the same."  This didn't turn out to be true because as we'll see from the other characters in the story,  Tom is able to draw a dachshund, dalmatian, poodle and mutt that look nothing like Stick Dog.  The story is cute, Stick dog and his pals are on a quest for hamburgers.  Each of the dogs has a different idea on how to get these hamburgers except Stick dog is the only one who's plan is really gonna work.  The narration is funny and there is something about the cute puppy dog faces that I enjoyed.  Especially the one that is face on like in the letter O on the cover.  I give it four out of five stars it's the one that maintained the appeal.  My copy was from the public library.