Vera Vance

Third grader Vera Vance is thrilled to have signed up for an after-school comics camp. She loves everything about comic books. Her mother, however, would prefer that she spend her time on academics, athletics, music, or nearly anything else, and she wonders whether comics are educational enough.

Vera is determined to take part anyway. With the encouragement of her enthusiastic friend Nixie and lessons from teachers who are accomplished cartoonists themselves, she begins creating her own comic about two characters named Big Spoon and Little Spoon. Near the end of the program, the teachers announce a final-class field trip to a local comic-con, where students can enter a page from their comics in a contest judged at the event. Vera is not surprised when her mother says she cannot go, but perhaps Big Spoon and Little Spoon can help win her mother over.

Vera Vance: Comics Star follows Nixie Ness: Cooking Star in the After-School Superstars chapter book series. The books are illustrated in black and white, and each one ends with a bonus activity tied to the plot. The series suits fans of Judy Moody, Ivy and Bean, and Clementine. This edition is a paperback.