Benny and Penny in the Big No-No! by Geoffrey Hayes

I only recently became a fan of graphic novels and I’d never read or seen one as a picture book before this. Benny and Penny are mice, who are trying to find out if their new neighbor is a monster and a thief. They end up realizing that things aren’t always as they appear. One of the major strengths of this book is the format. The pictures are written in a comic book fashion, which breaks the text up and keeps your attention. Plus, the use of onomatopoeia combined with the action allows kids to understand what’s going on even if they can’t read or understand all of the words. Also, the quality of the illustrations, are wonderful. The dimensions and depth that are created by Hayes, with his combination of shading variations and lines are very appealing. This would be a good book to introduce young students and early readers to books and instill reading skills at a young age.