Benny and Penny in Lost and Found!by Sheena McNeilReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk. Publisher
Credits Grade: 10 Benny and Penny are brother and sister mice. In this volume, Benny has lost his pirate hat. Penny joins him on a hunt for it where they both get lost before making their way home.This is the second Benny and Penny book I've read, and they are just fantastic. The art is well done with soft colored pencils. The mice are appropriately anthropomorphized while still looking like mice, and all of their surroundings look real and of relative size. The only black ink is used on the characters and things they are directly interacting with, allowing the background to be just that. I like that there's a two-page spread at the end that shows us the path they took in its entirety. It's a nicely bound hardback book with quality paper and well worth the $12.95 price for readers in grades 1 and 2. There's a nice amount of repetition, and the story circles back to the situation at the opening after the grand adventure. One of the best things about these two mice is how realistic they are. They are realistic as both kids and siblings. There's a wonderful dichotomy between them. Penny is slightly more mature despite being younger. She notices things her brother doesn't, but she still looks up to him and helps him with his plan. Benny gets frustrated at the loss of his pirate hat, making him irritable in a humorous way that readers at this grade level will identify with. He tries to do things his own way rather than what his mom or sister suggest, but in the end he circles back to logic from his mom, owning that decision as his own. I love the little lizard that appears at one point and that he gets scared of the "cat" along with them. I also like the way the "cat" is handled visually, as well as the reactions it creates when seeing it (and when Penny sees what it really is). This book is fun and very well suited to its target audience. I highly recommend this book to parents, schools, and libraries. Written: July 19, 2014
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