King of the Bench

January 16, 2017
Syndicated cartoonist Moore (In the Bleachers) introduces a self-described benchwarmer in this first installment in the King of the Bench series, profusely illustrated with scribbly b&w cartoons. Steve is happy to spend most of his time “on the pine” as his coach puts it: “Benchwarmers like me observe life from just the right angle,” Steve explains. “I’m not sitting too high up, where I look down on the rest of the world.” After one of Steve’s teammates is struck while at bat (“Way too gory to show!!” crows the black-box-censored cartoon accompanying the incident), Steve has developed a bad case of Bean-O-Phobia. Still, he would rather not end his first season as one of Spiro T. Agnew Middle School’s Mighty Plumbers with a batting average of zero. Smart advice from Steve’s father finally gives him the courage he needs to confront his fear. Populated with colorful characters and gross-out gags (Coach Earwax has a habit of cleaning out his ears with car keys), this offbeat sports story will satisfy Timmy Failure and Diary of a Wimpy Kid fans. Ages 8–12. Agent: Alan Nevins, Renaissance Literary.

December 1, 2016

Gr 4-6-Steve is a self-proclaimed benchwarmer. He's a realist whose astute yet sanguine comments about life at Spiro T. Agnew Middle School make him more Forrest Gump than Greg Heffley. In this series starter, Steve, an only child with zero athletic ability, faces baseball tryouts after a career in youth sports where "every kid gets on a team, every kid plays and every kid gets a trophy." As he eyes the competition, he calculates the odds that he and his fellow "benchkateers," Joey Linguini and Carlos Diaz, have of making the cut. He'd really like to be a "Mighty Plumber" and tries to impress Coach Earwax, so named by Steve for the man's penchant for digging the stuff out of his ears with his car keys. Despite a humorously disastrous tryout, Steve and his pals make the team. Steve, who is prone to exclaim "Derp!" whenever things don't go quite as planned, inserts a number of "Quick Time-Outs" into his narrative to explain a few side stories, signaled by a change in font. Author/cartoonist Moore generously punctuates Steve's hilarious tale with black-and-white spot art featuring googly-eyed characters. Sad sack adults slouch with bulging middles, and there are plenty of sight gags, such as errant key chains hanging out of ears. This title joins a crowded field of books with "Wimp appeal." VERDICT More illustrated novel than diary, this will entice readers who are ready for more complex text but still enjoy a bit of slapstick.-Brenda Kahn, Tenakill Middle School, Closter, NJ

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2016
There's no stigma to "sitting the pine"--being relegated to the bench is all about perspective.Middle school student Steve has played youth sports his whole life, but now he's ready to try out for the Spiro T. Agnew Mighty Plumbers (sort of). First, he must get permission to play for the school baseball team from the Power Structure: his dad says yes, but his mom's a "turbo-hyper-worrywart." As long as he promises to wear a helmet at all times, he's allowed. That done, he gets in some practice (sort of) and tries out for the team with his best friends, Carlos Diaz (slow, large, and flatulent) and Joey Linguini (tiny and fast). Tryouts are a disaster, as a line drive to another player's face leaves Steve with a case of Bean-O-Phobia (fear of being hit in the head by a pitch). Incredibly, Steve makes the team, but he ends up on the bench with his friends. Can he survive the season, overcome his fears, and maybe inspire a smile from girl-jock Becky O'Callahan? Syndicated cartoonist Moore delivers a series debut dotted with scribbly cartoons that is sure to appeal to sports-loving, underdog, reluctant readers who will identify with protagonist Steve's cynical yet optimistic point of view. Moore's style doesn't allow for much in the way of racial diversity--everybody looks white--but he does introduce some ethnic diversity with naming conventions. There is nothing new here, but it's totally safe. Diary of a (wanna-be) sporty kid. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 8-12)

COPYRIGHT(2016) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

January 1, 2017
Grades 3-5 A nationally syndicated cartoonist touches most of the required bases for a Wimpy Kidstyle narrative. Having acquired a severe case of Bean-O-Phobia after seeing the effects of a fastball on teammate Dewey Taylor's face, habitual underachiever Steve is perfectly happy riding the bench. From there, he can watch his coach dig huge chunks of wax from his ears with a car key as star pitcher Becky O'Callahan and the rest of the Spiro T. Agnew Middle School's Mighty Plumbers play. Similarly, he introduces his turbo-hyper-worrywart mom and the rest of a familiarly caricatured supporting cast while relating various incidents involving, among other things, jockstraps, a jersey stained pink in the wash, and a homework-eating pet boa constrictor. Sketched line drawings with punchlines or side remarks in dialogue balloons share space with Steve's wry observations on almost every page. Not exactly venturesome, but both the familiar hybrid format and the sports motif may score with young readers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2018
In �cf2] Fear�cf1], Steve has a severe case of "Bean-O-Phobia": fear of getting beaned by a baseball. In �cf2]Control�cf1], Steve tries, disastrously, to play football (a potentially magical Nintendo controller is involved). Perennial middle-school bench-warmer Steve's first-person narratives use a blend of snarky wit and hilarious social observation. Cartoonish line drawings invite readers to laugh at and with Steve in equal measure.

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)