CLYDE

In Benton’s middle-grade graphic novel, a young bear wants to be the ultimate bad guy.

Clyde is one bad bear cub from Cubville. He’s the type of guy to spray-paint BUTT on a tree or to throw his Grammy Turtle into the lake. He’s definitely too aggro for Cubville, so he plans to head to Grizzly City and join up with all the other lowlifes there. But on his way, the rough and tough Clyde gets knocked down by, of all things, a sweet butterfly, who introduces herself as Mellisa Sue. One brief hospital stay later, Clyde is finally back on his way to Grizzly City—this time accompanied by Mellisa, whether he likes it or not. But Clyde can barely get past the city welcome sign before being scared by the local residents, so much so that he can’t stop farting in fear. So, back to Cubville Clyde goes, now to save his Grammy Turtle from Fish Jail. As much as Clyde wants to be a tough guy (“I’m bad to the bone, man”), he keeps falling into situations where he ends up helping people, especially with Mellisa following him around and goading him into doing the right thing. Maybe he can agree to be a “bad good guy” in the end. Just maybe. In this appealing adventure, geared toward the younger end of the middle-grade age range, Benton delivers an endearing story of a bear who just wants to be bad and cool. The colorful illustrations and menagerie of animal characters are amusing and visually appealing and will definitely catch the attention of younger and reluctant readers. The silly jokes, such as Mellisa’s and Grammy Turtle’s obsession with thermoses, and ridiculous situations, like the revelation that Fish Jail is just being tied to a rock with a string, help to make this an incredibly readable and amusing graphic novel.

This engagingly silly story will find a ready and willing audience in middle-grade readers.