Customer Reviews

Benny and Penny in the Big No-No! (Toon)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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

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.

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.

My son's favorite book! - we found it at our library & have read it over & over & over - so happy to see more from this author on-line - just ordered the other two - love the series!!!

can't imagine how anyone could give this book one star based on the story line - it's a book for toddlers for gosh sakes! Great illustrations & a wonderful story line for little guys!

This book is so cute! A must read to your young ones. Make sure you use extra squeaky, cute voices. Makes it more interesting.

I highly recommend this funny, adorable book. My 6 year old boy/girl twins HOWLED with laughter when I read this to them last night. They asked me to read it to them 3 times in a row, even. I'll be buying the other Benny and Penny titles in this series, for sure.

I love this Toon Book, too, especially because the characters (cute and adorable) exemplify all the lessons you want your little one to learn when it comes to following the rules and getting along with others.

THE BIG NO-NO! is plenty cute, but has enough action, mud, mystery, and calamity to entertain any kid.

Benny and Penny, two mice siblings, embark on a series of no-nos that leads to a mud war with the new neighbor child. When the misunderstanding is resolved, they become friends. It's told, very succesfully, in comic book format for easy readers, and is an engaging and charming addition to the Toon Series.

A few months ago, I was lucky enough to receive the Fall 2008 line of Toon Books (see my review.) My son and I both treasure these books, and that's a very good thing because I read them to him all the time! I can't tell you how many times we've read them, but he's still laughs like a nut each and every time. So I was very excited when I received a package with two more of these Toon Books -- THE BIG NO-NO! and LUKE ON THE LOOSE. Both books are part of the Spring 2009 line and will be released in May 2009.

If you're not familiar with Toon Books, they are a line of comics for young readers. TOON Books' Editorial Director Francoise Mouly (who is also Art Editor of The New Yorker) and Advisor Art Spiegelman (author of the Pulitzer Prize-winner MAUS) introduced these books for young readers in Spring 2008. These books have since received loads of terrific praise. Schools are even beginning to use these comics in the classrooms as part of their reading curriculum.

THE BIG NO-NO and LUKE ON THE LOOSE were very similar to the other TOON books that we've read. Since they are in a comic book format, they have loads of pictures with lots of color and are jam-packed with action. There are few words on each page so the early reader won't get easily frustrated; and there is also lots of word repetition -- perfect for a young one who is learning to read. Another huge benefit is that the stories are filled with humor which definitely keeps my little guy interested. Take a look at some sample pages from LUKE ON THE LOOSE to get a better idea of how wonderful these books are!

These books will certainly appeal to kids ages four and up, but I love how they will especially appeal to young boys. Sadly, young boys often times just aren't interested in reading as girls of the same age. I think these comic books will definitely help to bridge that gap. I can see how these comics would encourage even the most reluctant reader to pick up a book.

I LOVE these books and look forward to reading them many more times with my son. I appreciate how he enjoys the stories now (at four years old), but I know that he will also love these books as he begins reading. I highly recommend checking these books out if you have a young child who is learning to read!