Review of Benny and Penny in The Big No-No!

Children's Artist Geoffrey Hayes Creates Early Reader Comic Book

Feb 15, 2009 Michael Jung

Mice siblings Benny and Penny return in an all-new comic book story about getting along with your neighbors.

Penny and her grumpy brother Benny are curious about the new kid who moved in next door. Is the new kid a boy? A girl? Peeking through a hole in their fence doesn’t reveal much, and both Benny and Penny know sneaking into someone else’s backyard is a big no-no.

Then Benny discovers he’s lost his pail. Did the new kid climb into their yard and take it? A quick look over their fence shows a bunch of big muddy footprints all over their neighbor’s yard. Maybe the new kid is a monster!

Meeting a New Neighbor

Even though they know it’s wrong, Benny and Penny decide to climb over the fence – and find a pail just like Benny’s by a bunch of mud pies. The new kid is a thief! Benny and Penny end up getting into a mud fight with the little girl next door and quickly make it back to their yard – only to find Benny’s pail in their sandbox! Oh no! Can they give their neighbor’s pail back to her and set things right?

Benny and Penny Comic Books

First introduced in Geoffrey Hayes’ Just Pretend, mice siblings Benny and Penny quickly earned rave reviews from Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, and Booklist which called Hayes’ story of sibling rivalry, “a charmer that will invite repeated readings.” With The Big No-No! Hayes re-captures much of the same appeal from his first early reader comic book while tackling new issues like wrong impressions and fear of the unknown.

Children ages three to five will enjoy Hayes’ Benny and Penny comics, which provide a nice blend of cute fanciful animal artwork and realistic stories of early childhood (inspired partly from Hayes’ own childhood experiences with his younger brother Rory). Siblings will probably also relate to Benny and Penny’s constant squabbles and (hopefully) enjoy the fact that they always make up in the end.

TOON Books

As part of the TOON Books series headed by Pulitzer Prize winning Maus cartoonist Art Spiegelman and New Yorker art editor Francoise Mouly, The Big No-No! follows in the spirit of other TOON Books that employ the talents of seasoned cartoonists to introduce young readers to comics. Fans of these books will also want to read the Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor book Stinky by Eleanor Davis as well as Harry Bliss’ Luke on the Loose and check out the Official TOON Books Site for more new releases.

Also read Storytelling Books for Kids with Bears for more picture book recommendations.

Hayes, Geoffrey. Benny and Penny in The Big No-No! New York: TOON Books, 2009. ISBN: 978-0-9799238-9-0

Hayes, Geoffrey. Benny and Penny in Just Pretend. New York: TOON Books, 2008. ISBN: 978-0-9799238-0-7

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