Ben Clanton – BookBunnies

Caramel reviews Narwhal’s Sweet Tooth by Ben Clanton

Caramel’s very first review ever for the book bunnies blog was Narwhal: The Unicorn of the Sea!, the first book of Ben Clanton’s Narwhal and Jelly series. Since then, he has reviewed seven more books in the series: Super Narwhal and Jelly Jolt, Peanut Butter and Jelly, Narwhal’s Otter Friend, Happy Narwhalidays, Narwhal’s School of Awesomeness, Narwhalicorn and Jelly and A Super Scary Narwhalloween. Today, as his last review before the book bunnies take off for the month of July, he is reviewing the ninth and most recent book in the series: Narwhal’s Sweet Tooth, which is scheduled to come out in July 2024. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

The book bunnies received this book as an advance review copy.

Caramel reviews Narwhal's Sweet Tooth by Ben Clanton. — Caramel reviews *Narwhal’s Sweet Tooth* by Ben Clanton.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, here we are, with a brand new Narwhal and Jelly book!

Caramel: Yes! I am very excited about it!

S: Great! So tell us about the book. What are the goofy duo Narwhal and Jelly up to this time?

C: Well, they are not up to anything. But Narwhal has a problem.

S: Oh no! What is his problem?

C: His tooth nearly breaks off!

S: His special narwhal tooth?

C: Yes. Well, it is actually called a tusk, but yes.

S: Why? How does this happen?

C: His tooth nearly breaks off because he keeps stacking food on it. You can look at the picture in the front of the book. Just like that.

S: I see. That might not be a good way to use the tooth I suppose.

C: Yeah, no, it is not. And he is eating a lot of sweets. The title tells you that. He has a sweet tooth. That means he likes sweets a lot. And everyone knows too much candy is bad for your teeth.

S: That is definitely true. Too much candy, and especially if you do not brush your teeth afterwards…

C: Yeah, Narwhal does not brush his teeth. But he learns to brush it in the end.

S: Caramel, you had reviewed a book about teeth and keeping them clean many many years ago!

C: Oh, I had already forgotten. It has been a while.

S: But you have not forgotten that it is important to keep teeth clean.

C: Of course not! We bunnies need our teeth to be healthy.

Caramel is reading Narwhal's Sweet Tooth by Ben Clanton. — Caramel is reading *Narwhal’s Sweet Tooth* by Ben Clanton.

S: Well, so it has been a while since you last reviewed a new Narwhal and Jelly book. How did it feel to have a new book about these two friends?

C: Very good. I think Narwhal and Jelly are the coolest!

S: And it seems like this book in particular has an important message about teeth, but did it feel like it was trying to teach you something?

C: Yes, a little bit, but I did not mind it. I love Narwhal and Jelly. And they are always so funny and fun! Reading these books makes me happy!

S: That sounds wonderful! Okay, so tell me your favorite quote from the book.

C: Jelly says to Narwhal: “Narwhal it’s hard to frown when you’re around.”

S: That is a nice thing for a friend to say to another friend.

C: Yes. They are good friends.

S: I seem to recall that these books often have a bunch of facts sprinkled here and there, and you love those facts too. Were there any facts in this book too?

C: Yep.

S: Were they all about teeth?

C: Yes! But not all about keeping them clean.

S: Did you learn anything new?

C: Yup. My most favorite new fact from the book is that the purple sea urchin has five teeth! And here is a webpage from the Monterey Bay Aquarium that shows those five teeth!

S: That is really cool! Not a lot of natural things have five-fold symmetry like that!

C: True! But you showed me that apples do!

S: Yep. That is one of my favorite fun facts. Okay, so this all sounds like you really enjoyed reading Narwhal’s Sweet Tooth.

C: Yes!

S: So if someone had not read any of the earlier books, would they still enjoy this one?

C: Yes, Narwhal and Jelly are really cool anyways. But if you want to know them better, you can read some of the earlier books too.

S: So the adventures can be read independently?

C: Yes.

S: That is great, Caramel. So maybe this is a good time to wrap up our review. What would you like to tell our readers?

C: I’m going on a break till July!

S: Yes, Marshmallow has one more review on Saturday, but then we take the month of July off. So–

C: So, yes, enjoy your summer and stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel loved reading Narwhal's Sweet Tooth by Ben Clanton just as much as he loved reading all the other Narwhal adventures, and he is looking forward to more! — Caramel loved reading *Narwhal’s Sweet Tooth* by Ben Clanton just as much as he loved reading all the other Narwhal adventures, and he is looking forward to more!

Caramel reviews A Super Scary Narwhalloween by Ben Clanton

Caramel’s first review for this blog was Narwhal: The Unicorn of the Sea! Since then, he has reviewed all the books from Ben Clanton’s Narwhal and Jelly series about two wacky oceanic friends. Today he reviews the most recent addition to the series: A Super Scary Narwhalloween, published in 2023. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

[Readers might like to check out the full series by reading Caramel’s reviews of Super Narwhal and Jelly Jolt, Peanut Butter and Jelly, Narwhal’s Otter Friend, Happy Narwhalidays, Narwhal’s School of Awesomeness, and Narwhalicorn and Jelly.]

Caramel reviews A Super Scary Narwhalloween by Ben Clanton. — Caramel reviews *A Super Scary Narwhalloween* by Ben Clanton.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, since the beginning of this blog, you have matured a lot. And you have been reading a lot of different books, but whenever you see Ben Clanton publish a new Narwhal and Jelly book, you can’t seem to resist it.

Caramel: Of course not. Narwhal and Jelly make me happy!

S: I can see that. So remind our readers who Narwhal and Jelly are.

C: Narwhal is a narwhal, and Jelly is a jellyfish. And they live in an ocean, and they are good friends. They have a lot of fun adventures together.

S: So what is this eighth book about?

C: Narwhal has a costume conundrum.

S: What does that mean?

C: Meaning he could not think of what to wear for Halloween.

S: Okay. Go on.

C: And he puts on too many costumes at the same time so everyone thinks he is a monster. But he does not realize that they are all scared of him. So when he tries to eat some waffles, he gets all sticky. Jelly helps him out. So all is well in the end.

S: I am guessing that is one of the reasons why you love these books. That they always end happily.

C: Yes. But also I really like Jelly. Narwhal is also funny. I like his jokes.

Caramel is reading A Super Scary Narwhalloween by Ben Clanton. — Caramel is reading *A Super Scary Narwhalloween* by Ben Clanton.

S: I seem to recall that the books in this series also have a lot of facts in them. And you love books full of facts. How about this one? Are there new facts in it too?

C: Yes!

S: Tell me one new fact you learned from this book then.

C: I learned that there is a bat that is the size of a bumblebee.

S: That is neat, Caramel.

C: It is! It is a tiny, tiny thing!

S: So I was thinking we would hold on to this book and review it for Halloween. But obviously you could not wait.

C: It was very hard.

S: That’s alright. I am sure we will find other books for Halloween. But so tell me, if you were to describe this book in three words, what would you say?

C: Colorful, hilarious, and as always, factful!

S: Yes. That is great, Caramel. So then you recommend this book to all little bunnies who have read the previous adventures of Narwhal and Jelly?

C: Yes, they should all read all of them! At least the second book, Super Narwhal and Jelly Jolt.

S: Why?

C: Because this one mentions Jelly Jolt, too.

S: I see. Okay, then. Let us wrap up this review. What do you want to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel loved reading A Super Scary Narwhalloween by Ben Clanton and recommends it wholeheartedly to all the little bunnies who love Narwhal and his friends. — Caramel loved reading *A Super Scary Narwhalloween* by Ben Clanton and recommends it wholeheartedly to all the little bunnies who love Narwhal and his friends.

Caramel reviews Narwhalicorn and Jelly by Ben Clanton

Caramel’s first review ever for the book bunnies blog was the first book of Ben Clanton’s Narwhal and Jelly series, Narwhal: The Unicorn of the Sea! Since then, he has reviewed five more books in the series: Super Narwhal and Jelly Jolt, Peanut Butter and Jelly, Narwhal’s Otter Friend, Happy Narwhalidays, and Narwhal’s School of Awesomeness. Today he talks about the seventh book in the series: Narwhalicorn and Jelly. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, it has been a while since we talked about Narwhal and Jelly. What are they up to in this book?

Caramel: Narwhal becomes a unicorn and his name is now Narwhalicorn.

S: That is the title of the book! But wait, how does he become a unicorn?

C: I think he wishes it upon a star and it happens.

S: Hmm, that is interesting. But unicorns live on land.

C: Yes, I know. And so he goes out of the water, on land, and Jelly comes along, though not exactly willingly.

S: But how does Jelly breathe out of the water?

C: He gets a bowl. A fish bowl. They call it a jellyfish bowl.

S: I guess that makes sense. Then is most of the book out of the water this time?

C: Yep.

S: Now the earlier books in the series always had a lot of fun facts about ocean life. Does this book have any facts like that too?

C: Yes it does.

S: About unicorns?

C: Real unicorns.

S: Wait, are there real unicorns? My understanding for all these years was that there are no real unicorns.

C: They mean things with one horn. Like there is something called a Siberian Unicorn. It was a rhino but went extinct.

S: Hmm, I did not know about those.

C: I did. I think we saw them in the Walking With Prehistoric Beasts documentary.

S: Oh, I must have forgotten. But I watched that series only once. I know you and Marshmallow have seen it several times.

C: Yep. We love that documentary!

Caramel is reading Narwhalicorn and Jelly by Ben Clanton. — Caramel is reading *Narwhalicorn and Jelly* by Ben Clanton.

S: Okay, back to Narwhal and Jelly. Did you like this book as much as the earlier ones?

C: Yes!

S: I know you have been reading other types of books these days, so I was wondering if you felt like this was too childish for you.

C: Narwhal and Jelly can never be too childish for me! I kind of feel like they are my friends.

S: In some sense they are. You started reviewing books with their first adventure. And you love facts, too, so these books were right up your alley.

C: Yes, and they still are. This book is also factful. And funny.

S: Okay, so I know already two of the three words you would use to describe this book. What is a third one?

C: Unicorny.

S: Do you mean it is corny? Not sure that is a good word.

C: No. I said unicorny and I meant unicorny. It has unicorns, so it is unicorny. Get it?

S: I guess I do. So Narwhal and Jelly find out about all kinds of other animals with single horns?

C: Yes.

S: Sounds good. So you know that there will be an eighth book from Narwhal and Jelly soon, right?

C: Yep, and you know that I will have to read it!

S: Okay, we will find a way to get a copy. Don’t worry.

C: Good. It is about Halloween, I think, so maybe we can review it around Halloween this year.

S: Makes sense to me! Okay, let us wrap up this review then. What would you like to tell our readers Caramel?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel loved reading Narwhalicorn and Jelly by Ben Clanton and cannot wait to read the eighth book in the series as soon as it comes out. — Caramel loved reading *Narwhalicorn and Jelly* by Ben Clanton and cannot wait to read the eighth book in the series as soon as it comes out.

Caramel reviews Narwhal’s School of Awesomeness by Ben Clanton

Caramel chose to talk about the first book of Ben Clanton’s Narwhal and Jelly series, Narwhal: The Unicorn of the Sea!, in his very first review for the book bunnies blog. Then through the next few months, he reviewed Super Narwhal and Jelly Jolt, Peanut Butter and Jelly, Narwhal’s Otter Friend, and finally Happy Narwhalidays. So it was natural that when he heard about a sixth book in the series titled Narwhal’s School of Awesomeness, he thought he’d better get his paws on a copy and review it, too. This is exactly what he does in this post. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking followup questions.

Sprinkles: So you must be feeling pretty good having gotten your paws on yet another Narwhal and Jelly adventure!

Caramel: Yup! It is fin-tastic to be reading about these two once again.

S: I see what you did there! Fin-tastic is one of those words Clanton uses, created by slightly changing a word to have ocean-life connotations.

C: Yep yep yep.

S: So will you tell us anything about the book?

C: Narwhal and Jelly are back and Narwhal becomes a teacher.

S: How does he do that?

C: Well, one of the fish school teachers is sick, and so he goes home, and then Narwhal takes over the school. He’s not told to do it, but he just does it himself.

S: So he just decides to be a teacher and gets going, right? That’s interesting.

C: Yes. And what’s more interesting is what he teaches. He teaches wafflematics, which is math + waffles.

S: That sounds deliciously nerdy!

C: Yes. And there are other classes, mostly fake classes of course. Narwhal does not know a lot, because I think he is young, kind of like me, so he is making things up as he goes along.

Caramel is reading Narwhal's School of Awesomeness by Ben Clanton. — Caramel is reading *Narwhal’s School of Awesomeness* by Ben Clanton, when Narwhal is explaining what wafflematics is.

S: But there are still a lot of real facts in the book, right? Like in the earlier Narwhal and Jelly books?

C: Yes, and you know I love my facts.

S: I know you do. So did you learn anything new from this book?

C: Yes. Did you know what a group of snails is called?

S: No.

C: It’s called a walk. And a group of sharks is called a shiver.

S: I did not know any of those.

C: Yes, and then there is a picture of a hammerhead shark and he is really funny, talking like a pirate…

S: So the books are factful and funny again, right?

C: Yes! At some point Narwhal says “This is what I’m chalking about!” You see, talking becomes chalking because he is now a teacher?

S: Yes, I see. I’m glad you are enjoying this book just as much as you did the earlier ones.

C: <giggles> Wait, what? Sorry, I was reading the book again.

S: Okay, maybe we will end the review so you can get back to the book once more. But before that, tell me a third word to describe the book. You already have factful and funny.

C: Colorful. Because the book is very colorful. They are adorable fishies and I love them!

S: That is so cool that you liked this book so much!

C: Yes. It is o-fish-ally awesome!

S: Okay, then why don’t we wrap it up? What do you want to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel loved reading Narwhal's School of Awesomeness by Ben Clanton, and reconnecting with old friends Narwhal and Jelly. — Caramel loved reading *Narwhal’s School of Awesomeness* by Ben Clanton, and reconnecting with old friends Narwhal and Jelly.