Day 39: Artsy Fartsy by Karla Oceanak, illustrated by Kendra Spanjer

Aldo does not love sports and he can't run fast. Aldo likes to draw and he is pretty good at it. It is because of some of his drawings that he gets the nickname Artsy Fartsy from the school bully. Aldo decides to hide his love for art in hopes of losing the nickname. When the summer vacation starts his grandmother gives him a sketchbook to draw in. Aldo is not too sure about it. His neighbor suggests he keep it as a journal. So Aldo does a little bit of both, art and writing. He keeps the sketchbook in his tree fort. Only Aldo's best friend Jack knows about the drawing and the fort, or so they thought. Someone keeps sneaking into the fort and drawing in Aldo's book. Aldo and Jack set out to find the mystery artist. Mixed in with the investigation, Aldo's mom signs him up for summer baseball, Aldo is not happy about that. There are family vacations and interesting trips to the local pool as well. Eventually the two crack the case of the mystery drawer, baseball turns out to be fun and summer comes to a happy end. Artsy Fartsy is a cute book. So many kids love Diary of a Wimpy Kid and this is similar to it but not nearly as funny. I think it would be a good fit for kids who are not quite ready for Wimpy Kid. I do think the title is unfortunate. Once you read the first couple pages you understand where the name comes from but I think some kids will think the book is more like Captain Underpants books and that is not true. Still, overall it is a good book. I would recommend this book for third and fourth graders.