I enjoy this series as it follows Derek on his junior high adventures. This time Derek is leading a cartoon club at school. A new kid transfers into his school and makes Derek's life miserable. If Derek retaliates he looks like the bad guy. Derek and Umberto have to come to a compromise over their problem.

I like Derek. The drawings are still in the margins for words he does not understand. Sometimes their definitions are broad but make the point. I enjoy learning more about capuchin monkeys and how they are used as animal assistants for people with disabilities. Bullying is the topic but it is not preachy about it. It does show how bullies come in all shapes and sizes and how perceptions come into play. I was on Derek's side the whole way but since he was always caught retaliating or getting mad I could see where the other people were coming from.

I hope there will be more books in this series because it is one of my favorite youth series. ( )

"My Life as a Cartoonist" is one of the books in a series by Janet Tashjian. The main character in this story is Derek Fallon, who is in middle school. At the beginning of the book, a new student arrives at school, and his name is Umberto. Umberto has a spinal defect and must use a wheelchair, and Derek wants to do something to help him. Derek has been training his pet money, Frank, to help handicapped people with their everyday lives, so he wants Frank to help Umberto. Unfortunately, Umberto doesn’t want any help from Derek or Frank, and he’s really mean about it. Umberto resents the fact that Derek is trying to help him, so he starts making jokes about Derek. Umberto also starts stealing Derek’s cartoon ideas about “Super Frank,” the super hero monkey, and Umberto pretends that they are his ideas. Umberto also picks a fight with Derek on the playground makes it look like Derek started it, so he will get in trouble. To try to make the boys get along, their teacher, Ms McCoddle, makes them do a school project together. They have to create a cartoon as a team. While doing the project, Derek and Umberto figure out that they have a lot in common like drawing, cartoons, and love for surfing. Umberto can’t really surf because of his wheelchair, but Derek finds someone who can help kids with disabilities go surfing. Derek and Umberto have the best day and become great friends.

"My Life as a Cartoonist" was a pretty good book. It wasn’t as interesting as many of the books I’ve read, so would only rate it with 3 out 5 stars. I don’t think I would choose to read the other books in this series because I thought the plot of this one was a little boring. I also thought the cartoons in the book were not that great or funny. The book did have a good morale about how bullying is wrong and can hurt people. It also showed that bullies aren’t always the people you would expect. In this book, Umberto, who is in a wheelchair, is the bully. That is not the image that most people have when they think of bullies. I’m glad I finished this book, but I wouldn’t recommend it to my friends. ( )

The third book in the series is as fresh and delightful as My Life as a Book. If your Wimpy Kid readers haven’t discovered Derek they should. He gives them much more to think about than Wimpy Kid. Derek, known for his cartoon drawing, meets his match in Umberto, a wheelchair-bound new kid in class. In fact, Umberto seems to have it out for Derek—to the point of bullying. But how can you get teachers and kids to understand a handicapped kid is the bully. When they are finally forced into detention together with the requirement that they collaborate on a cartoon, it looks like they are doomed to stay in detention forever. But when Derek’s dog had a seizure in the dog park, it’s Umberto who helps Derek get the dog home, and as they talk, Umberto starts to open up as to why he was a bully. And as all bullies, he used it to cover up his own insecurities. This is an excellent basis for discussions about bullies. ( )