Benjamin Bear in Brain Storms!: TOON Level 2

Benjamin Bear

by Philippe Coudray

Explore the world through the eyes of Benjamin, a bear who takes his silly way of doing things very seriously.

In the third book about Benjamin's adventures, author Philippe Coudray continues to delight readers by bending the rules of common sense and breaking the laws of physics. Pull up a chair, grab a friend, and open your mind--today's forecast is for BRAIN STORMS!

Genres: Graphic Novels, Humor, Childrens, Animals, Picture Books, Comics, Graphic Novels Comics

32 pages, Paperback

First published April 7, 2015

About the author

Philippe Coudray loves drawing comics, and his many children’s books are often used in schools in his home country of France, where his work was chosen by elementary school students for the prestigious Prix des Écoles d’ Angoulême. He relishes any opportunity to collaborate on children’s books and comics with his twin brother, Jean-Luc, who is also a humorist. Philippe lives in Bordeaux and enjoys painting, creating stereoscopic images, and traveling each year to Canada, where he searches for Bigfoot.

Reviews

[Alyson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so much smarter after reading this book!

[Nan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I may be writing very similar reviews for a little while. I'm looking for comics which would appeal to the type of students I work with -- mostly boys, mostly on the ASD spectrum, mostly immigrant or African American, mostly picture oriented, kinesthetic learners, mostly emergent, some in third grade reading at kindergarten level. This is a level 2 Toon Book. It's full of six-frame, one-page stories. It may be perfect. I have no real feel for Benjamin Bear. They don't have the personality of Toon's Ape and Armadillo...but then my boys don't quite get personality.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

September 20107 - Ben was drawn to the graphic novels shelves at the library recently, and I love the Toon books so I pushed him in that direction (short enough for a read-aloud). He was totally fascinated with the cartoon panels and really worked to decipher what was happening on each page. Minimal text makes it great for pre-readers or early readers to look at independently.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is hilarious. Quick read. Great for adults and kids.

[Maren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This made my 7-year-old and me laugh several times. I like that it made my son do some abstract higher thinking.

[Kimberly Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic series for emergent readers. So engaging. The illustrations and jokes really push my son to figure out trickier words. These bear books are hysterical.

[Bridget · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't as much fun as the Fuzzy Thinking one, but it's still a silly and cute read.

[David Haggett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again, read this after reading the first 3 volumes, so perhaps the character has grown on me. Thus, 5 stars! :-P

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 7yo LOVED this. What a fun concept.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Classic panel comic strips with silly situations and jokes that are groaners.

[Hillvan]

GN190L

[Fred Patten · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Benjamin Bear in Brain Storms!” is a 48-page hardcover collection of single-page cartoon-art humorous stories starring the bear and his animal friends, for 4- to 8-year-old (grades 1 to 3) readers. According to the copyright notes and the publisher’s catalogue, the author/artist Philippe Coudray has been drawing these in France since 2009, where Benjamin is known as Barnabé Bear. Two earlier collections have been published; “Benjamin Bear in Fuzzy Thinking” and “… in Bright Ideas!”.

The Benjamin Bear books have gotten two Eisner Award nominations in America, and won awards in France including the Angoulème Prix des Ecoles, voted by French schoolchildren. They are often used in French schools. These gently humorous one-page stories, many in pantomime, show Benjamin Bear’s unique way of “bending the rules of common sense and breaking the laws of physics.” They are usually set in a woodland with such friends as Rabbit and Fox, but sometimes not. In “River Crossing” (one of the wordless pages), Benjamin drives a car along a road that is interrupted by a bridgeless deep river. He wonders how to cross it. Fox drives up on the other side. They cross the river, trade cars, and each continues on his journey. In “Math Lesson” (which has speech balloons), Benjamin is a teacher of other bears who says that the middle of 7 is 4. When a student corrects him that it should be 3.5, Benjamin “proves” it’s 4 with a joke similar to the old vaudeville routine where Costello “proves” to the skeptical Abbott that 7 X 3 = 28.

This is a book that will amuse all ages, suitable for beginning readers to read alone or for a parent or teacher to read along with a child (often pointing out why Benjamin Bear's absurdist "logic" would not work in real life)..

[Lillian Huezo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the book. That's book cool and funny. The Benjamin Bear in Brain Storms play with rabbit, bears, fox, lady bear, and hoers. The bear said "Can't over and much too far. This horse will help me jump!" "Its too far! I'll never make it." then the horse stop so bear fall high going to down on gress that safe. The rabbit said " 4+4=8." the bear said " Wrong, its 4+4=9." Rabbit said " that's silly." The bear said " i add 4 more and 4 more " Rabbit said " 8." but bear said " no, 8 is right add me equal 9."

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of one page comics that are not only funny but clever too.

I like the way the combination of the simple artwork, text, and problems make room for a big payoff in terms of solutions and humor. A lot of the "reading" is in the changes from one panel to the next, so this is a nice title to share with pre-readers to work on narrative skills etc.

Highly recommended for all ages.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

I never get tired of Benjamin Bear's antics. What I love most about this series is that it is humor that makes you think but is completely accessible to a younger audience. Kids aren't stupid, but there is a lot of kid lit that is condescending and simplistic. I'd love to see more like this more often.

[Nashiea Edmiston · Rating 4 out of 5]

A level 2 comic for emergent readers. This little graphic novel is just beautifully executed; engaging illustrations, simple words, and plenty of comedy for young readers. Liked that it felt like a book and like a comic book. I could see children in early primary grades enjoying this book! Highly recommend!

[Roben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bear has innovative ways to solve any problem that comes his way! Don't want your rabbits to run away? Put a carrot in a cage. Learn to build a bird house that (hopefully) scares away predators. Overcome the fear of walking a tightrope. These are just a few of the lessons Benjamin Bear teaches in Brain Storms. Very short, one page comics that are perfect for emerging readers.

[Drew Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Benjamin Bear is apparently a thing but this was my first experience with him. This is a book of very comedic short situation- or text-based sketches. The art is pretty rudimentary but I think that's part of its charm. Most of the puns were lost on the kids (5 and 3) but it made me chuckle a few times.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Benjamin Bear is brilliant as usual. The antics of Benjamin and his friends are reminiscent of the classic Pink Panther cartoons with style of humor and limited dialogue. Each single page story is clever and creative.

[Jodie · Rating 4 out of 5]

short comics that kids will find funny.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever, one page comics.

[Michele · Rating 2 out of 5]

These books are funny in an adult-who-can-reason way but I just don't see the appeal to a child.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Benjamin Bear is always fun - Kids can't go wrong with any of these books. Great early graphic novels for young readers.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Benjamin Bear is just as funny and clever as ever.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Smart and funny single-page comic-style stories. A huge hit with my 5 and almost 8 yr old boys!

[Theresa Grissom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very clever! Looking forward to reading the other Benjamin Bear books.

[Amanda B · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore this series. So much fodder for discussions about science, math, logic and more.

[Marfita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short cartoons starring Benjamin Bear that play with visual humor and a bit of math! Each page is a different joke or brief story.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully whimsical approaches to problem solving.

[Haley Hoenke · Rating 4 out of 5]

#reading