Young Readers will enjoy this beginner’s comic book about mice siblings who don’t make a good impression with the new neighbor next door.
Summary: Benny And Penny In The Big No-No!: A Toon Book, written by Geoffrey Hayes, is a beginning reader’s comic book. It is the story of two little mice siblings who are told by their mother that a new neighbor has moved next door. Benny, the older brother, is quite curious about whom this new neighbor is. After he thinks his pail is missing, he suspects the new kid took it. Knowing that climbing over the fence is a big no-no, they do it anyway. They discover who the new kid is and a mud-pie throwing battle begins before they know it. Tears are shed before Benny and Penny and get back over the fence with the pail Benny found in the new kid’s yard. When they are back in their yard, Penny finds Benny’s pail in their sandbox! Benny realizes he needs to return the pail to the new neighbor. When he does, things don’t go exactly as he had planned.
Qualitative Analysis: The text of this book is told from the first person perspective of three young animal children, Benny, Penny, and Melina. Because it is a comic book/graphic novel, each character’s voice is heard through a word bubble above their head. The purpose of the story is made clear through the title and the first page of scenes. It is clear that the characters are about to do something they know they should not do. The first scene is the older sibling peeking through a hole in the fence. The genre of comic books/graphic novels might not be that familiar to the reader, but because this book follows the rules of the genre, the beginning reader will easily navigate each scene and text on the pages. The organization is sequential and each scene provides a clear transition for the reader to follow. Each word bubble is written above the head of the character speaking and the text is written in a large black font on a white background. Occasionally, the text is in a bold font indicating expression. There are other words written in colored text, indicating the sounds the characters might be hearing, such as “Waaah!” when there is crying. According to the copyright page, the illustrations were done by using colored pencils. The language closely adheres to the reader’s linguistic base and there is no need for background, cultural, or prior knowledge for this book to be enjoyed or comprehended.
Genre and/or Subject Area: Comics/Graphic Novels
Age or Interest Level: Grades K-3
Reading Level: Lexile RL: GN40L , Accelerated Reader RL: 1.3 , FLR: 1.3
Awards: 2010 Theodor Seuss Geisel Medal
Personal thoughts: This is a great beginning reader’s comic book with a great lesson to be learned. Young children will love the animal characters and the simplistic text and illustrations, while at the same time learning a good lesson.
Bibliographic Information: Hayes, G. (2009), Benny And Penny In The Big No-No!: A Toon Book, New York: Toon Books
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