Benny and Penny in Just Pretend

Benny and Penny

by Geoffrey Hayes

“[S]weet, delicately colored illustrations have an old-fashioned feel that gives the familiar sibling story a timeless quality…A charmer that will invite repeated readings.” – Booklist (starred review)
 
How can Benny pretend to be a brave pirate when his pesky little sister, Penny, wants to tag along and is always asking for a hug? He tries to lose her, but when he does, he starts to feel a little lost himself. Penny proves her bravery and saves Benny from a bug. They hug as Benny explains he was only pretending she bugged him.
 
Veteran children’s book author and illustrator Geoffrey Hayes returns to his childhood love of comics, bringing unforgettable characters to life. With rare warmth and humor, he insightfully catches the essence of the bonds and tensions that unite siblings.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Picture Books, Childrens, Comics, Fiction, Animals, Family

32 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2008

About the author

Geoffrey Hayes has written and illustrated over forty children’s books, including the extremely popular series of early readers Otto and Uncle Tooth, the classic Bear By Himself, and When the Wind Blew by Caldecott Medal-winning author Margaret Wise Brown.

Reviews

[J9]

A great reading book and lots of fun for kids learning to read on their own. This was my 5 yr old's pick to read out loud and it only took about 15 minutes. Somewhere around a level 2 reader at least, it has engaging pictures and storylines that any kid can relate to. Highly recommend this series.

[Hannah]

I enjoy that this graphic novel is accessible to emerging readers. The story follows a relatable discord between two siblings playing. It is a great introduction to graphic novels and would help new readers learn how to follow the sequence and structure of reading a graphic novel. With that being said, I think the story could have gone a bit deeper - it felt very surface level. Not necessarily a rich story, but a good introduction to this text format for young readers.

[Jason]

Great as a beginning reader, great for introducing kids to comics! There's a boy and girl character, there's sibling rivalry, there's conflict and resolution. A lot of good stuff going on.

[Alyson (Kid Lit Frenzy)]

I think I might like this even more than the Oh No! one. Benny's little sister is driving him crazy. Despite wanting to play alone, Benny learns some important things about having a little sister and playing with her.

[Morgan Otis]

This story follows Benny and his sister, Penny throughout a fantastic adventure. Benny just wants to play by himself and pretend to be a private, but his annoying little sister, Penny wants to play too and won’t stop asking Benny for a hug. In an attempt to get away from Penny, Benny ends up getting lost. Penny shows how brave she can be and saves her big brother, finally getting that hug she wants.
My first impression of this book was that it was kind of bland and boring. There is not that much excitement in the words, but this is probably because it is meant to be an easy read for beginning readers. The main impact this book has it that it really serves a transition book for readers from picture books to graphic novels. The design elements like the panels and speech bubbles really make it feel like a true graphic novel. The literary elements like short, simple sentences and sound effects make it easy to read and engaging for beginning readers. It is written in a way readers can really tell the difference between Benny and Penny. Overall, I think this is a great book for beginning readers who are interested in graphic novels.

[Mikhaila Ackerbauer]

1. Awards the book has received (if any)

2. Appropriate grade level(s): Kindergarten- 2nd

3. Original 3-line summary: Benny is playing as a pirate and his sister wants to join but he will not let her. Instead he has her hide in a box and waits a while before he comes back. When he finds her they decide to play pirates together.

4. Original 3-line review: This book is not one that I would read again. While the illustrations are very cute, the dialogue is unkind. However, this book would be useful for discussing kindness.

5. 2-3 possible in-class uses: This book can be used for lessons on kindness. The children can talk about different parts in the book where Benny could have been nice and included Penny. Another lesson can be one concerning the value of imagination and each child draws or constructs their own miniature fort or play area.

[Sierra P]

Age 4-7

This short picture book (roughly 30 pages) would be a very interesting text for moderately leveled, early readers. The pages are broken up to appear as comic strips, acting out individual scenes. The story tells of two mouse siblings, a brother and a younger sister. There is conflict between the brother, Benny not wanting Penny to play his pretend pirate games. By the end of the story, Benny learns to be grateful to have Penny be by his side. There is a fair amount of dialogue and a well developed plot from beginning to end. This book is also one in a series. Young readers will want to continue reading about the adventures these mice encounter.

[Rose Rosetree]

Which game does Benny want to play when his baby sister Penny's around?
"I'm brave Benny the pirate."

Which other game is Benny involved to play, whether he likes it or not?
Learn how to get along with his annoying little sister. She demands, "Play with me!"

Fighting and making up.
Hurting and helping.
Crying and getting over it.

FIVE STARS for this "toon book" about a couple of mice. And yet this picture book has a lot of humanity to it.

[Sarah Harper]

This is a good text to talk about how to treat friends. We could also discuss pretend from real life. We could immolate, play and engineer our own infrastructure similar to what they played with in this text. The animal characters make it fun, and light for young readers. We could talk about the characters and decide what each one of them are doing.

[Jasmine]

This book is great for younger children to read with great illustrations an a few words. The story is well done that explains that treating a sibling in a rude way can hurt their feelings and anyone can feel guilty on how they treat their siblings. As well this story is great for young children to enjoy that is short and sweet but are able to understand the story based on the illustrations.

[Erin]

This series has really appealed to my kids. The simple stories and text alongside eloquent pictorial storytelling makes for a fun experience.

Plus, who can't relate to being terribly mean to a sibling, and then turning around and having a great time with them?

[Olivia S]

Womp womp. Cute illustrations, and the story is nice and wholesome I guess, but it's not quite there. I wouldn't mind kids reading it, but I don't think it's particularly good. Wouldn't go out of my way to recommend it.

[Katie]

Ugh, these characters are my life! This author understands parents!

[Carrie Norris]

Great graphic novel for beginning readers!

[Liz Todd]

So cute! And perfect for early readers.

[Iulia]

MI-A PLACUT PARTEA CU LIBELULA
MULTE LUCRURI

[Noah]

Benny actually calls Penny a dumb little sister and that is horrific. and also weird.

[Natasha]

Loved by kids and adults in my household. One of those books that have an x-factor that you can't describe but it works amazingly well.

[Mary T]

A very basic graphic novel. I didn't care for the way Benny spoke to his sister, but it was resolved in the end.

[Kathy Nealen]

A big brother struggles to get along with his little sister. Good for beginning readers.

[Betsy]

Cute! Good siblings book addressing common annoyance issues while also recognizing the bond that siblings often share.

Does use the word st*pid at one point, but it's apologized for later on.

[Hope-Still]

Horrible book for children. It encourages bullying by an older sibling, name calling and lying when the fake apology is given. Absolute twaddle.

[Isla]

I loved it. It was so funny how he tried to get rid of her.

[Elizabeth]

Benny and Penny in Just Pretend by Geofrey Hayes is a Graphic Novel set up much like a comic book. It's a story of a mouse, Benny, who just wants to be a pirate. But he gets easily irritated at his sister, Penny, who just wants to play with him. So Benny tricks Penny, and looses her. He thinks its great at first, but then he realizes things just aren't the same.

Text-to-self: I have a younger brother who is always tagging along with me, even though we are seven years apart! I understand how having someone next to you all the time can be annoying and tiring. I can relate to Benny in this, and I can also say I've tried to get rid of him a few times even! But it's true, you don't know what you have until it's gone. I love the company of my brother, and no amount of alone time can replace the fun times that he and I have and and will have together.

Text-to-text: This book reminds me of the show Max and Ruby that used to air on PBS when I was little. It's not exactly a book, but it is a script. There were many times when Max, the older bunny rabbit brother, was annoyed with Ruby, the younger bunny rabbit sister. This was so relatable to me at the time, and even still, because of the older sibling/younger sibling references. There was a situation in one episode where Max wanted Ruby to go away, much like Benny and Penny. Max later realized that half of the reason he could have so much fun was because Ruby brought so much happiness into his life!

Text-to-world: A lot of the time we take things for granted that we should cherish. If the world could learn to cherish those loved ones around them while they're still there, relationships around the world would blossom. So many people would be happier with the quality of their lives and the quality of their family and friend relationships. If this were to happen, who knows what advances the world could make!

[Courtney Nations]

Genre: Graphic Novel

Format: Picture Book

Award(s): No awards

Summary: When Benny is playing pirates, his little sister Penny wants to join. However, Benny does not want his little sister tagging along and playing with him because pirates are brave and she is not. He tries tricking her, being mean to her, and hiding. None of which works. He then tells her to go hide and he will find her. So, Penny does just that. While Penny is hiding, Benny sneaks off to play pirates by himself like he wanted to. He then soon starts worrying about Penny, so he goes to look for her. When he can't find her he becomes concerned, but then Penny pops out of her hiding! They then both decide to hide in the thick grass, where they run into a big dragon fly. Benny yells and is afraid while Penny bravely shoos it off. Benny then realizes that his sister is brave after all, and they both go play pirates together.

Critique: My only critique is where the author has Benny call Penny a "dumb, bad sister." Although it is used to make a point in the story, young students are usually steered away from using hurtful words like dumb. They might get the idea that they can use this word when reading this story, although it is seen as negative in the story.

Teaching Prompt: When using graphic novels, the student gathers information not only from the text, but from each individual picture. On the page where they come in contact with the dragon fly, you see Benny running away, while you see Penny shooing the dragon fly away. You can teach students about inferring using images just like the ones in this story. In that particular scene, you can infer that Benny is scared, while Penny is brave.

Craft Element: The author does a good job of setting the scene with each illustration. This would be a good example for students to see how each story they write must incorporate a setting.

[David]

Benny and Penny in Just Pretend by Geoffrey Hayes follows an insistent little sister who wants to play with her brother, who wants to play alone.

Penny wants to play with her brother who is playing Pirate. Penny wants to be a Pirate too, but tips over the box. Benny hides from his siter but is discovered. Benny calls Penny dumb and a bad sister. Benny starts a hide and seek game but won't really play. When he finally looks for Penny she is gone, and Benny starts to worry. Penny suggests a place to hide where a dragonfly scares Benny. Penny scares the dragonfly away. Benny admits Penny is brave and somewhat apologizes. They end playing pirate together.

The text is mainly in text bubbles with a little narration in boxes.

Hayes' illustrations feature delicate colors. My favorite images include Benny in his box pirate ship, Penny holding onto the "mast", Benny in his cave, scared by spider, Penny pulls Benny's tail, Benny yells at Penny, Benny scared by dragonfly, Penny shoos dragonfly, and final image.

This should be fun for beginning readers and those who enjoy a graphic format, or whose older siblings read graphic novels. I did find Benny a bit harsh with his sister, too self absorbed, and claiming to have been pretending when he really just lost his temper. Hopefully those feelings could be discussed with young readers. This should still be popular as an easy reader with a graphic format.

For ages 5-8, easy graphic novel, easy-reader, pretending, brothers & sisters, play, fantasy, and fans of Geoffrey Hayes.

[Rachel Devine]

Awards:
• Booklist Top 10 Graphic Novels for Youth
• Maryland Blue Crab Young Readers Honor Book
• Bank Street College of Education's Best Children's Books of the Year
• Kirkus Reviews Best of 2009 Continuing Series
• Iowa Goldfinch Award
2) Grades: Preschool-1
3) this book is about an older brother and younger sister mouse named Benny and Penny. Benny is playing alone when Penny comes over and wants to play, Benny says no and tries to get rid of her. But when she disappears he gets worried and starts looking for her. When she returns he’s so relieved he plays with her.
4) I like this comic. It is a simple story that is easy for any young student to understand and anyone with an older or younger sibling will understand and relate to it. I like the wording of everything and the cute pictures that add to the story.
5) This book can be used to teach about the beginning middle and end of a book. The different sections are very clearly defined and the issue or conflict is also defined. This makes teaching about the specifics easier. This book can also be used to teach about kindness and appreciation. Benny wasn’t kind and he didn’t appreciate Penny. It wasn’t until Penny went missing that Benny learned his lesson. The last way the book can be used is to teach about and help students make connections between self and text. A lot of students have probably been in this situation with a sibling as either the older or younger sibling and even if they haven’t it can happen a lot with friends too. This allows them to make that connection from themselves and what they have experienced to the characters in the book.

[Dariana Carlon]

"Benny and Penny in Just Pretend" is a book about two siblings play pretend. They both play pretend to be brave pirates. The brother and sister argue because the older brother doesn’t want to play with his younger sister. The author has different books about the same mice. This book at the end explains how each story is related to his personal childhood.


The book is a comic style, but still is like a normal book. The pictures are easy to follow and there is borders. The images are panel to panel, so there is not much time passing. There is space between pictures, but it is just used as separation. I thought it was interesting how it never shows the mom when she is talking the bubble comes from the corner. There is action words throughout the book. I I think it is unique because the author is telling a personal story through the use of fictional mice. The book can be considered surrealism. This book can be used to read to young children because of the use of simple words and easy to follow story line. The book gives a child an example that they can relate to within their own life.

[Jessica]

Hard to believe that the Benny and Penny series are Geisel award-winners, because I've come to expect more zaniness & FUNNY writing (Dr. Seuss, Mo Willems) from controlled-vocabulary books (meaning books with only a small set number of easy words for children who are learning to read). I could not believe that Art Spiegelman and Francois Mouly (of The Complete Maus) fame were the art directors for this series because it actually has an old-fashioned feel to it. However, this is a really cute and sweet book that addresses sibling rivalry issues. It can aid in the transition to chapter books and makes kids feel like they're reading a comic book.

[Kayla Hartmann]

Benny and Penny in Just Pretend is set up to be a simple read comic book. Benny is Penny's older brother. Like most older siblings, they feel as playing with their younger sibling is a chore. Benny is trying to play with his rocket ship but his younger sister Penny keeps bothering him to play. Their mother tells Benny that he needs to be nice and play with Penny, so he decides to play hide and seek. Benny has Penny hide first, but then doesn't go looking for her.

This book is set up very simple and easy to follow. The book is panel to panel, but very little time is passing in between. The whole book takes place in one afternoon. The book is directed towards younger children because of its easy to follow story line and simple text used throughout. The only characters that are ever shown are Benny and Penny. When the mother speaks, the illustrations don't show her but instead just have a bubble put to the side of the page to show that the words are coming from somewhere else.