Clyde is ONE. BAD. BEAR. No, really...he's bad to the bone, and there's nothing you can do about it. He mouths off to moths (who aren't ACTUALLY moths), hurls his grandmother in the pond (she's a turtle; she'll be fine), threatens to do bodily harm with pine cones...and then gets promptly shown what for with a pine cone by a butterfly (hence that "not a moth" comment from earlier). Yes, Clyde is one bad bear, but what we take away from this "charming" story of unusual friendship, wanting to be the baddest of the bad, and getting out of small town life to conquer the big bad city, is that being the biggest, meanest, baddest creature in the land is all relative. You can claim the title as long as you want, but there's always gonna be someone bigger, and badder that eventually comes along to knock you off your throne...best to have a few good friends by your side to lighten the fall... or not. I mean, this IS Clyde we're talking about and he was beaten up by a BUTTERFLY for crying out loud! A great pick for fans of the author's HAPPY BUNNY creation. ( )

Rather juvenile graphic novel about a bear called Clyde who wants to be known as being bad not nice. On his journey to the "bad" town, he is beaten up by a gang of tough bears and then a butterfly. There's no real moral to this story ...although it tries to cash in on the "deep down we are all nice" trope. There are booger and fart jokes which makes me think the intended audience is Grade 4 boys. ( )

"I'm not calling a cop... He'd probably arrest me. For being super cool without a license"(page 27).

When I was younger, I loved the Dear Dumb Diary books, so I was super excited to read this from the same author. This book was so stupid in the best way possible. I love the cute artwork, the origin story of an unexpected character's former life of crime, and little got-a-bad-attitude-need-to-take-a-nap-with-his-Sharpie-marker-eyebrows-self Clyde. Also, the Granny Turtle is so adorable.

The humor's really funny and quirky, and I think it's appealing to both kids and adults. Now, Clyde had a terribly mean mouth and he only sort of kind of learns his lesson by becoming a bad good guy. Y'know a "first they're sour, then they're sweet." but he's a fun character nevertheless.

If you want a quick, fun read around 10 minutes, then I recommend this book. Give me a sequel!
4.5 ( )