Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #563233 in Books
• Published on: 2002-04-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 28 pages

From Amazon.com
After waking one morning to find a new baby brother in a basket by his bed, toddler pig Benny is thrilled--for about 15 seconds. Long enough for the baby to start squalling and their mother to give him a binky. "I want a binky, too," says a disillusioned Benny. But apparently he's too big for a binky. Benny, whose MO is to hit the highway when things don't go his way (Benny's Had Enough), manages to exchange his Little Piggy doll for his brother's binky, and takes off for an afternoon of peace, quiet, and binky-sucking. Unfortunately, it's not only his mother who thinks he's too old for a binky.

Barbro Lindgren and Olof Landström (Boo and Baa in the Woods) make an unbeatable creative team. Benny's ingenuous expressions even as he misbehaves, and his pure joy when he finally gets his first taste of the coveted binky, are simply priceless, as is Lindgren's understated narrative: "He is happy. The binky is good." We will follow Lindgren and Landström to the ends of the earth for the chance to read any of their books. (Ages 2 to 6) --Emilie Coulter

From Publishers Weekly
In Benny and the Binky by Barbro Lindgren, illus. by Olaf Landstr”m, trans. by Elisabeth Kallick Dyssegaard, the preschool pig gets the baby brother he's always wanted, but the charm soon wears thin.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
reschool-Kindergarten--Benny the pig wanted a brother and now he has one. When the crying baby gets a binky, Benny wants one, too. His mother tells him he's too big for a pacifier so Benny takes things into his own hands. He takes brother outside, swipes the binky, and runs off. He enjoys his prize until three bullies chase him and punch the coveted object right out of his mouth. A dog comes to the rescue. With the pacifier back in hand, Benny hears crying from afar. He goes home, returns the binky to his brother, and the two go back inside to Mama's clueless praises. Benny's psychological ups and downs are right on target. His desire for his own pacifier will strike a chord with many toddlers as will his decision to run away. Clipped brisk sentences exude simplicity despite the rather complex nature of the text. Benny's run-in with the bullies is the book's point-not that he took the binky in the first place (So who's the bully?). There's no final reflection from Benny-only a furtive sense of wrongdoing and the relief that no one's the worse for wear. The illustrations are a blend of lighthearted cartoon characters with sophisticated styling. The colors are muted rather than vibrant, a perfect complement to the text and the fall setting. While the story is full of questionable, even unsettling behaviors, the book will offer listeners a door to some self-reflection.
Martha Topol, Traverse Area District Library, Traverse City, MI
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Cute, but sends BAD messages
I am a writer, so I can really appreciate all the funny, superbly written sentences in this book. The illustrations are precious, too. But c'mon, do we really want to raise kids who think these things are funny: three bully pigs punching a smaller, more helpless piglet in the snout because they think he's a "baby"; an "adult" dog threatening to bite children if they don't behave; an spiteful older sibling who sticks his newborn brother outside in the cold while he steals his pacifier, or -- worse of all -- the mother pig who doesn't pay enough attention to know any of this is going on. Perhaps in this generation of violent computer games and television shows, this book is the lesser of two evils? I say don't waste your money on bad messages for this impressionable picture-book set, even if the pictures are darned cute.

This is too much!
This book just grows and grows on you. The text is simple enough for the youngest toddler, and the illustrations make it so funny that you will not mind the repeated requests for "read it again!" Every kid and adult can identify with the myriad kidlike emotions in this book. Get it.

Oh for crying out loud
Benny and the Binky is a very funny book written in a wonderfully simplistic way that I'm sure children would love. The illustrator is brilliant, and Benny's expressions are just priceless. You will laugh out loud at the "three tough pigs." For those of you who find it appalling that the three tough pigs want to punch Benny in the snout -- perhaps you should stick with gentler classics such as "Little Red Riding Hood." Benny and the Binky is just plain fun for kids and adults.