Aldo Zelnick is a newcomer to the graphic novel lineup. He’s an artist, and good in school, but not athletic like his brother and has a flamboyant artist of an grandmother who encourages his artistic side. Aldo struggles with how to deal with the negative connotations of being a male artist and also discovers that girls can be friends too in this title, the first in his new series of “sketchbooks”.  This unpretentious story speaks to kids without being gross or preachy and would make a great sell to those Wimpy Kid fans. I love how the author stealth-fully works in some great vocabulary under the guise of a retired English professor who the boys confide in.   My only worry, this title has a underlying “A” theme, does that mean she’s planning on writing 26 of these?!?!