9-year-old Saige Copeland begins her first day of fourth grade in Albuquerque, New Mexico, only to learn that the art class has been dropped from the school's curriculum due to budget cuts, replacing it with music. Saige's best friend Tessa Joblansky meets another girl named Dylan Patterson from camp and hangs out with her instead of Saige. Tessa's friendship with Dylan makes Saige jealous. Saige doesn't like Dylan, because she interrupts her and makes jokes that she doesn't think are funny. A new girl in school named Gabi Peña becomes friends with Saige. Gabi is also an artist who draws cartoons and designs her own clothes. Saige tells her grandmother, Mimi and friends about the situation, and they proposed a school-wide protest against the decision.