Meet the author

Ben Clanton.

Writer & illustrator · United States

Ben Clanton: American author-illustrator of Narwhal and Jelly — bright, gentle early graphic-novel friendship stories that bridge from Elephant & Piggie to Dog Man for ages 6–9.

Ben Clanton is an American author-illustrator best known for the Narwhal and Jelly early-graphic-novel series, short, bright friendship comics about an irrepressibly optimistic narwhal and his anxious jellyfish best friend. The series, launched in 2016, has become one of the most reliable early-graphic-novel gateways for ages 6–9, with the same Elephant & Piggie warmth-and-friendship engine in comic form. Clanton also writes and illustrates picture books, including Mo and Beau and a range of other titles. His voice is gentle, gleefully silly and emotionally generous, a strong fit for sensitive readers and for the period between Mo Willems and Dav Pilkey.