The Slothful Spud: The Couch Potato by Jory John

I AM A POTATO.

NOT A SMALL POTATO LIKE MY BROTHER. NOT A SWEET POTATO LIKE MY MOTHER. NOT A MASHED POTATO LIKE MY UNCLE STU.

I AM A COUCH POTATO.

In other words, he's a Couch Slouch. He's got everything he needs--the remote, his game controller, earphones, snacks, and fuzzy bunny slippers. And a whole wall of diverse screens for all purposes--even hanging with his pal-potatoes on-line. Everything in the cosmos is only a click away! Everything, he believes... What could go wrong?

UNTIL THE OTHER DAY...

C.P. plugs in a new device and FOOP! The power poops out. He's in the dark!

He's forced to open the drapes and sees that fortunately the sun is still on the job. He takes a spud stroll with his dog Tator. The colors outside are even more vivid than those on television. He climbs a hill and sits under a tree and watches the sun slide down the screen, er, sky. Hey, this isn't so bad! He walks back home. He's not even a tired tuber or a pooped potato or French fried. He's ready for action outside in the world.

The slouch is soon off the couch and putting down his roots in the great outdoors with his potato pals, in Jory John's latest spud saga, The Couch Potato (Harper, 2020). A plug to those sluggish couch potatoes to get out and get under the sun is his latest in Jory John's food friends series, joining his best-selling foodstuff fiction, The Bad Seed, The Smart Cookie (Food Group), The Cool Bean, and The Good Egg.

Always ready with a punny joke, Kirkus Reviews quips, "Looking for a spud-tacular read? Starch here."

Here's Mud in Yer Eye! Rot, the Bravest in the World by Ben Clanton

Spuds love mud.

For the Potato Pals, mud is their natural happytat, RIGHT?

It's their favorite playground! They even eat it!

"MARVELOUS MUCK!

MUD IN OUR TOESIES! MUD IN OUR NOSES!

MUD IS GREAT... WHEREVER IT GOSES!"

So when mutant little brother Rot discovers a pristine mud pit, the mud puddle to end all mud puddles, he's just about to claim it for his own with an epic cannonball when his bossy big brother Snot comes along. Snot delights in scaring his little brother, so he tells Rot about the evil monster, The SQUIRM, who may reside in this very mud pit.

"IT'S SLIPPERY! IT'S SLIMY!

GRIMY AND GROSS--AND ALWAYS HUNGRY!"

But I'm sure this mud is probably... possibly...SQUIRM free!" says SNOT.

Don't be a scaredy spud! JUMP IN! (HE HE!")

Now Rot is scared, but he screws his courage to the sticking point and takes on the mantle of a superhero with Viking helmet and sword (actually a cooking pot and broom)

"SIR SUPER ROT, THE PIGtato! "I'm kind of a PIG DEAL!"

Rot studies his image in the mirror.

"ONE SMASHING SPUD. I'M ROOTING FOR YOU!"

Rot spots something moving beneath the turgid surface of the mud. "IT'S ALIVE!"

Is Rot a timid tuber?

But wait! It's a worm. A friendly worm. Whew!

Rot suddenly sees himself as a potent potato, turning this knowledge into a rout for the pest Snot. Can he perpetuate his ownership of the Perfect Mud Puddle? But there's still more of the Spud Bros. mighty mud fight in store in Ben Clanton's second book about the Tater Two, Rot, the Bravest in the World! (Atheneum/Simon and Schuster, 2020). Author-illustrator Clinton's quirky illustrations, done in turbid tones and his punny dialogue make this spuds in the mud tale pure giggle bait for preschool and primary readers. Kirkus Reviews' starred review calls this one "Spudtacular!" The talented Ben Clanton is also the author-illustrator of Rot, the Cutest in the World! Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea: A Narwhal and Jelly Book 1 (and sequels) and Rex Wrecks It! (See more Ben Clanton book reviews here).

Zombie Spud? ROT: The Cutest in the World by Ben Clanton

Rot is an, um, "mutant" potato. He's actually a bit, er, rotten here and there, and not really handsome, even as overripe veggies go, with a unibrow, one eye that seems a bit moldy, and something strange sorta sprouting from the top of his head.

But this past-his-prime spud has plenty of self confidence, and when he spots a sign--

[CUTEST IN THE WORLD CONTEST THIS WAY]

--Rot is on it like mold on bleu cheese. He feels like a sure winner--that is, until he spots the competition.

There is an itty-bitty baby bunny with fluffy, floppy ears,

A little-wittle bewitching, bewhiskered cuddly kitten,

And an eenie-weenie, pink and peppy, jolly jellyfish.

(Did I mention the other competitors are all in pastel colors, too?)

The other contestants find Rot a little nauseating, while ROT wonders if they wouldn't be toothsome treats! But he rethinks the idea and decides that eating the competition wouldn't help his chances to win. Instead, he decides a little self-cute-ification might be expedient. He tries fake blue bunny ears, cutesy kitty whiskers, and paints himself jellyfish pink sporting a pink tutu and pom-poms.

"Look!" says Rot. "I look like you!"

"Um, NO!" says Bunny.

The other contestants take the stage, sure their cuteness will charm the judges. Rot does his best to strut his stuff, even his spotty backside.

But, WAIT! This contest is crooked! The judges are all rotten--a bad lot! A Blighted Banana, a Wormy Apple, and a Past-Prime Pear?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, in Ben Clanton's clever parody of beauty pageants, Rot, the Cutest in the World! (Atheneum Books, 2017). in which Rot takes the trophy, while the runner-up pink jellyfish tries to vary his look with his own unibrow. Young readers will find Rot irresistibly ticklebox-worthy in author Clanton's tongue-in-cheek text, and artist Clanton uses the faux naif style to great effect with his simple blackline drawings illustrated in blotchy daubs of watercolor that subtly spoof the zombie craze. Rot is NOT pretty, but he is what he is, himself to the core! Says School Library Journal, "An entertaining and irreverent take on self-confidence."