No Fear! (King of the Bench #1)

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

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. (Mar.)