Jim K. Benton (born October 31, 1960) is an American illustrator and writer. Licensed properties he has created include Dear Dumb Diary, Dog of Glee, Franny K. Stein, Just Jimmy, Just Plain Mean, Sweetypuss, The Misters, Meany Doodles, Vampy Doodles, Kissy Doodles, and the jOkObo project, but he is probably most known for his creation It's Happy Bunny. Early life and education Jim Benton was raised in Birmingham, Michigan, graduating from Seaholm High School in 1978. He studied fine arts at Western Michigan University. Career Benton began his career in a Shirt shop where he started designing his own characters on T-shirts. At the same time, he did illustrations and artwork for magazines and newspapers. People magazine named him "one of the most visible cartoonists in America." Benton also created greeting cards and worked in the magazine and publishing industry. In 1998, his SpyDogs characters became an animated series, The Secret Files of the Spy Dogs, that aired on Fox Kids. Licensing his own creations brought them widespread attention on products, such as It's Happy Bunny, which he created in the mid-1990s but licensed in 2002. Benton currently lives in Michigan, where he operates out of his own studio. He is married and is a father of two children. Dear Dumb Diary #1: Let's Pretend This Never Happened (2004) #2: My Pants Are Haunted! (2004) #3: Am I The Princess Or The Frog? (2005) #4: Never Do Anything, Ever (2005) #5: Can Adults Become Human? (2006) #6: The Problem With Here is That It's Where I'm From (2007) #7: Never Underestimate Your Dumbness (2008) #8: It's Not My Fault I Know Everything (2009) #9: That's What Friends Aren't For (2010) #10: The Worst Things In Life Are Also Free (2010) #11: Okay, So Maybe I Do Have Superpowers (2011) #12: Me! (Just Like You, Only Better) (2011) Dear Dumb Diary: Year Two #1: School. Hasn't This Gone on Long Enough? (2012) #2: The Super-Nice are Super-Annoying (2012) #3: Nobody's Perfect. I'm as Close as It Gets. (Jan. 2013) #4 What I Don't Know Might Hurt Me (Feb. 2014) #5 You can Bet on That (March 2014) #6 Live Each Day to the Dumbest (2015) It's Happy Bunny Love Bites(2004) Life. Get One (2005) What's Your Sign? (2006) The Good,The Bad,The Bunny (2006) It's Happy Bunny Nice Enough Poster Book (2007) Franny K. Stein Lunch Walks Among Us (2003) Attack of