Scan barcode
cimorene1558's review against another edition
2.0
I would have hated this as a kid, and I don't much like it as an adult. It feels retro in the worst possible way.
cstoeger's review against another edition
3.0
Benny and his sister Penny know it’s wrong to sneak into someone else’s backyard but their mysterious new neighbor – or is it a monster? – may be a thief.
The kids are surprisingly mean to each other.
The Theodor Seuss Geisel Award Winner, 2010.
The kids are surprisingly mean to each other.
The Theodor Seuss Geisel Award Winner, 2010.
mrsbond's review against another edition
2.0
I'm disappointed to see the abrupt behavior (all too often appearing rude) common to graphic novels appear in the text of this book for early elementary. The story has great potential, and if you can ignore the unpleasant behaviors it would be great.
snowelf's review against another edition
2.0
We are now scooping up the Toon Books, as we come across them. They usually prick my son's interest and we've found some good ones. We've read quite a few of [a:Geoffrey Hayes'|10658|Geoffrey Hayes|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1351869420p2/10658.jpg] books, and now seem to have covered all of the Benny and Penny books. I have very mixed feelings about them: On one hand I tend to think they're rather cute and I think the comic book format is working well on the "easy reader" level, in any case my beginning reader enjoys them quite a bit and they're often his first pick. On the other hand, there's still something that irks me about them, and now that I've seen all of them I find that it's mostly their antagonistic nature and the gratuitous aggressiveness displayed by the main characters. This may be because this type of dynamics, and in particular the sibling rivalry is still just too foreign to us. But, at the same time the illustrations in the books seem to be tailored for younger kids (not that seven year olds might not be reading these, depending on reading level, but I would much less expect them to pick up Benny and Penny than I would the precocious readers). In [b:The Big No-No!|4831356|Benny and Penny in The Big No-No!|Geoffrey Hayes|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1320532742s/4831356.jpg|4896536] it comes down to name calling, such as "cry-baby", "dumb girls", and other terms to depict how absurd it should be for a boy to play with a girl, with which I beg to differ, and even if the story eventually leads to a conflict resolution, I would much rather those ideas simply not be shoved into my little boys head before he even starts school! So, three stars for the format, and one more for readability, but two stars off for the negative attitudes and the stereotyping ...
readingthroughtheages's review against another edition
4.0
2010 Geisel Award
I like the beginning graphic novel concept. I like it's a series. I like that it teaches siblings stick up for each other. Cute, but not clever. Was more surprised it won the actual Geisel award vs. honor.
I like the beginning graphic novel concept. I like it's a series. I like that it teaches siblings stick up for each other. Cute, but not clever. Was more surprised it won the actual Geisel award vs. honor.
jshettel's review against another edition
2.0
Hmmm.... Clearly this shows why I am not an award-chooser. So, I guess this book is really like an "easy reader comic book." It's not a graphic novel, and I have no idea why my library has it categorized in the "juvenile fiction" section. It really belongs with the easy readers. I didn't like the characters - two whiny mice (and a hedgehog? What was that other character?) and I didn't like the plot. I wouldn't choose to use this with beginning readers; give me Piggy and Elephant or Fly Guy over Benny & Penny any day!
bookbrig's review
4.0
Such cute illustrations! Also: it made me laugh out loud. Hee!
And not to be spoilery or anything, but I was totally surprised by the neighbor! Well done, book!
And not to be spoilery or anything, but I was totally surprised by the neighbor! Well done, book!
katyjean81's review against another edition
5.0
I am so in love with Benny & Penny! On its first level, it's an excellent story of friendship and misunderstanding. On a second read, it's a delightful look at gender roles, kindness and courage. Looking at it from a teaching/writing graphic novels POV, it's got lots of powerful elements of comics/graphic novels as mentioned in Scott McCloud's "Understanding Comics" book, such as lines to indicate movement, shading and color choices to indicate changes in mood, simple changes to eyes and eyebrows to indicate emotion, action happening in between panels and more.
Plus, it made me laugh and the "kids" (mice) were enough like real children that their behavior was right on point: not overly sweet, not overly naughty.
Huge fan.
Plus, it made me laugh and the "kids" (mice) were enough like real children that their behavior was right on point: not overly sweet, not overly naughty.
Huge fan.
ninoshkkap's review against another edition
2.0
For a children's book this one was incredibly sexist towards both men and women but overall it was an ok read
kiwiglory's review against another edition
A cute story with a lesson at the end. Story involves two mice children who go on an adventure in the neighbor's yard when they hear that they have a new neighbor from their mother. They end up making a quick judgement about the new neighbor's kid, and it ends up being resolved with everyone happy.