Tucker Grizzwell's Worst Week Ever

by Bill Schorr, Ralph Smith

A modern day bear family meets The Simpsons in this rollicking yarn about one really, really terrible week.

Tucker Grizzwell is having the worst week ever. He is due to attend the annual Jaws & Claws weekend with his dad, where young grizzlies learn how to be terrifying predators. Problem is, Tucker doesn't even like to eat meat, let alone have to kill it first! Plus, didn't some kid get eaten last year during the dumpster-diving lesson?

And before he can even get to the weekend, Tucker must endure a week's worth of middle school indignities, including pop quizzes, too much homework, bad cafeteria food, friends who are not the brightest lighthouses on the coast, an older sister who ignores him in the hallways, and one very unfortunate bus ride. The graphic novel format is perfect for the showcasing the daily trials and tribulations of this middle school grizzly cub.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Humor, Comics, Juvenile

248 pages, Paperback

Published April 4, 2017

Reviews

[Alicea · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tucker Grizzwell's Worst Week Ever by Bill Schorr and Ralph Smith was borne from a comic strip and is (supposedly) aimed at children. However, I found it to be so full of word play and puns that I think it would be better suited to an adult audience. In my opinion, it was a little too densely packed with jokes to the point of being somewhat annoying and obnoxious. This wasn't marketed as a collection of comic strips but it was lacking in a coherent plot beyond the bare bones 'lesson learned' tale of a cub realizing that adults may not necessarily have all of the answers to the world's questions.

Apologies for the shortness of this review but some books don't lend themselves to a lengthy analysis especially when they're so middle of the road like this one. 2/10

[Rod Brown · Rating 1 out of 5]

We spend seven days with Tucker, and it really is the worst week ever...for the reader...as we are subjected to a painful mix of juvenile humor and dad jokes. As one character prophetically says early on (talking about a different subject): "It's tedious, meaningless boredom. It's day after day of endless, pointless drudgery."

When I started reading, I'd forgotten that there was a comic strip called The Grizzwells that has been around since the '80s because, well, I'd put it out of my mind since it wasn't very good. Though this is ostensibly a graphic novel, it basically recycles the same gags that have been in the comic strip for thirty years, setting up a punchline every fourth or third panel. The jokes often having nothing to do with the main storyline, which is about a young male bear dreading a weekend trip with his dad.

Probably my biggest problem with this book is that a majority of the jokes depend on all the characters being incredibly stupid and saying stupid, clueless things that the creators apparently think are funny. And don't get me started on the crazy mythos where all the characters are wild animals when interacting with humans (talked about but never seen), yet somehow have their own society with modern technology and school buildings and stores that are, what, invisible to humans? In another dimension? Abandoned by humans? Shunned by humans? Maddening!

[Lola Snyder · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book. I read the first 3 pages and giggled so much I had to share with my coworkers. however, what was funny on the first few pages soon became an annoyance because the puns and jokes are constant. None of the characters show much intelligence and the story moves from one inane conversation after another. The kids all hate school and treat homework and tests like they are a joke. For example, test question: How many feet are in a yard (mind you, this is an 8th grade math test), answer: depends on how big the yard is. Funny the first time but old really quickly. I also wondered why Dad is as naked as a bear ought to be while Mom and all the kids are clothed.

In short, there wasn't enough story to counteract the constant barrage of one liner jokes.

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the illustrations in this graphic novel. They are cute and colorful. They are the best part of this book for sure.
Tucker is a grizzly bear. He and his family live in a (national?) park. He is dreading the weekend when he will go on a "jaws and claws" survival weekend with his dad. Every day holds something that doesn't go right which just heightens his anxiety about the weekend.
Story is disjointed and does not always make sense. Bad puns and jokes abound.
With all that said, I think the cover and illustrations will draw students in and they might overlook the things I didn't appreciate.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to netgalley for the read.
A funny and relatable tale, great artwork. Very likeable characters.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok graphic novel. It reads more like the Sunday funnies rather than a graphic.
Each panel has its own joke and punchline. I was hoping for more of a plot- and it took quite a while to get to the finale- the Claws and Paws weekend.
Art work was good- not sure how popular this will be.
I received a digital copy of this from Netgalley

[Kristin Fletcher-spear · Rating 2 out of 5]

reviewed for school media connection

[wildct2003 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book was written with a missing laugh track as if it were a 1970s sitcom. Ok, but not great.

[RangYuri · Rating 5 out of 5]

💕💕

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you have been a fan of the Grizwells since the beginning then this is the book for you. However, we do not get much bear/porcupine action as this book is about Grizzwells’ kids. We get to meet Tucker, his youngest son. Tucker is a school boy. He likes TV and other modern technology. The last thing he wants to do is attend Jaws and Claws with his pops. Bad things can happen there, and who cares if it is a yearly jamboree. Tucker does not want to go. And when he is not worrying about that he is trying to get the attention of the lovely lady he is into. A little slow but fun.

[Bec · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

Showing the everyday moments of the Grizzwell family as they go about their life (get ready for school, eat breakfast, walk to school etc) this graphic novel felt very much like a daily comic printed in the newspaper. It was full of one liners and puns that would appear every few panels or during mini story arc across a single page. Most of these had me smirk or roll my eyes, not laugh out loud. Not to say that this was bad, just average and the cartoon style felt a bit too similar to the Bernstein Bears and even Yogi Bear.

I do want to mention that I adored Tucker's best friends Max and Hector who Tucker introduced to the reader (breaking the fourth wall as he often did) by saying, “Lunch is not exactly a mensa meeting”.

An enjoyable read but not something I would return to as a reread.

[Theediscerning · Rating 2 out of 5]

A decent book, but not really my thing. In being so full of jokes – strong ones, mind, and on almost every page – as opposed to an actual story as such, it has more of the feel of a compilation of newspaper comic strips. Some – especially the dad talking about understanding life and women – seem more likely to hit home with an adult audience. Still, there is always a market for this kind of thing, and if a young reader could feel ownership of this cute bear, his sister and his coming-of-age mission, then that's all well and good.

[Steph · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe I'd have enjoyed this more if I had been more familiar with The Grizzwells comic strip. Because this is more of a comic strip collection than a graphic novel; it's just joke, joke, joke. I do love the sunday funnies, but I'd hoped for something more here. Oh well. My favorite part was the awesome bear facts at the end!

Thank you to Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing me with a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Talk about eyeroll-inducing. Ugh.