3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Delight to Look at as Well as to Read, November 23, 2009
This review is from: Benny and Penny in the Big No-No! (Toon) (Hardcover)
Benny and Penny are a typical brother-sister pair, the type frequently found in picture books: Benny is older, a bit domineering, not terribly bright, but basically good-natured. Penny is smaller and smarter, and she tends to serve as his conscience. Both are mice, sort of; Geoffrey Hayes manages to make them believable both as children, when they are squabbling and scheming, and as mice, when they are scampering up a tree.
The plot of the story is pretty slight, but it has the back-and-forth, up-and-down quality of real life among the sandbox set. Benny and Penny are curious about their new neighbor, and when Benny is convinced that she stole his pail, they end up trespassing in her yard (the big no-no). Benny compounds things by blundering into her carefully made mudpies and destroying one. Convinced the neighbor is a monster, they hide in the tall grass when they hear footsteps. In fact, the "monster" is just a little mole, wearing swim fins and goggles, who is upset when she finds her mudpies destroyed. She tosses one away, it hits Benny, and a battle ensues. The story switches quickly between slapstick and tears, as the kids pelt each other with mudpies and eventually, just as in real life, someone gets hurt. Benny spots the pail and stalks off with it, but his bluster dwindles to sheepishness when he realizes that his pail was in his yard all along. After a bit of scheming, he simply goes back and apologizes, more mud is thrown, and everyone ends up friends in the end.
The nice thing about this book is that it models good behavior--apologizing after being a jerk--without being preachy. For a pair of mice, Benny and Penny are surprisingly human. Benny puts down Penny when they are alone but sticks up for her when they are threatened; Penny sticks up for Benny as well; and their neighbor is appropriately startled and angry when Benny and Penny bust in and start wrecking things--but she's also quick to forgive when they apologize. There is also an unspoken theme of acceptance of diversity: Melina, the neighbor, is a mole, not a mouse, and Benny and Penny refer to her as a "monster," but once they get to know her, they get along just fine.
Benny and Penny is more than just a picture book with word balloons; Hayes uses the full comics toolbox, often stretching and shaping his panels and breaking the borders to help tell his story in subtle ways. His art, on the other hand, is not the bright, flat-color art of cartoons but has a lovely, textured feel to it, pastel without being washed-out. In fact, it captures perfectly the feeling of hanging around in your back yard on a sunny summer afternoon, which makes this tale a delight to look at as well as to read.
-- Brigid Alverson
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perfect for Struggling Readers!, April 18, 2009
This review is from: Benny and Penny in the Big No-No! (Toon) (Hardcover)
Benny and Penny in The Big No-No! by Geoffrey Hayes is a fun story of a brother and sister mouse who wonder about their new neighbour and then think he/she may have stolen Benny's pail. So they go into the neighbours yard and create a sequence of un-neighbourly events.
The illustrations are wonderful, which is always half the point of a graphic novel. The story is cute and very funny! The 8yo had a lot of real giggles over the events and I thought the story was very age appropriate. My struggling reader had no problems reading this book. The compelling story line kept him focused on figuring out the harder words and I am very pleased with this installment in the Toon Books series.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Big No-No is just a great big yes, April 17, 2009
This review is from: Benny and Penny in the Big No-No! (Toon) (Hardcover)
This is yet another delightful little tale from Francoise Mouly's Toon Books, told with deceptively simple layouts and delicately old-fashioned artwork.
This time Benny & Penny, older brother and annoying younger sister, go investigating in their mysterious new neighbours back garden. Yes, they know it's a No-No to go there but Benny thinks the neighbour's taken his sand bucket and he's going to get it back, No-No or not. So off they go, causing trouble and tears along the way as they discover that the neighbour might not be such a monster after all, in fact she might be a kid like them who just wants to be friends. And Benny's bucket? Well, like any parent can tell you, it's amazing how kids can forget where they left even the most important of things.
Just like the first Benny & Penny adventure this is full of lovely bits of fun between our two quarrelsome siblings, with the arguments ringing true each time between big brother and baby sister. And the clumsy and uncomfortable way that children make friends is played out perfectly between Benny & Penny and their new neighbour. It's simple yet a delight, with Hayes' art firmly in the classic children's illustration style.
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