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| NEW beloved Benny and Penny earns THREE STARRED REVIEWS! ★ ★ ★ A lesson in empathy when dealing with loss & grief. Why won’t Benny care? Penny finds a dead salamander, but her brother Benny doesn’t want anything to do with it. Is it silly to have a ceremony for Little Red, or could the loss of this tiny animal mean much more to the lovable siblings? With his unique knack for portraying children’s emotional turmoil, Geisel Award-winner Geoffrey Hayes shares this gentle tale of an early encounter with death. ★ ★ ★ "Hayes’ grasp of children’s inner lives is deep and lovely, granting them not only the complexity to experience resounding sorrow and guilt, but also the tools—with a little help and understanding—to overcome these difficult feelings." --Booklist STARRED REVIEW ★ ★ ★ "With humor, directness, and unfailing honesty, Hayes’s sensitive cartooning and sharp dialogue play up the big emotions of these little mice." --Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW ★ ★ ★ "A simple narrative make this ideal for budding young readers. VERDICT: A wonderful and sensitively handled offering; purchase where the series is popular or where titles on death are needed." --School Library Journal STARRED REVIEW LEARN MORE More Benny & Penny favorites that explore childhood feelings Watch the Making of Benny & Penny Geoffrey Hayes gives us an inside look at the creative process from initial sketches to storyboards, writing, editing, final art and dancing breaks! It's a wonderful video to share with students and fans of Benny & Penny! Author Q&A with Geoffrey Hayes What inspired you to write “How to Say Goodbye?” I never thought I’d write a book about death. At the same time I was considering a new Benny and Penny story a friend was in the hospital with terminal cancer, which of course brought up a lot of emotion, and I had the idea the of combining the two. I know Benny and Penny’s personalities so well by now, I knew exactly how they would react given the circumstances. I wrote the initial draft in an hour!! A record for me. What did you want to teach children about death? Well, I never start with a specific “message.” I prefer to simply tell the story and let the message evolve. I knew the story would be moving, but also contain a fair amount of humor. I like the importance of ceremony in our lives, and the book ended up being about showing respect for a loved one while allowing room to express deep emotions. Why a salamander, rather than a family member? The Benny and Penny books all take place in approximately fifteen to twenty minutes of “real” time. Françoise had the idea early on to not show their mother, to have Benny and Penny confront their issues head on, and just allude to the fact that Mother is near by. So, I needed to keep it simple. The passing of, say their grandmother, would have required too much back story. You started out writing picture books and readers, but in the last few years you seem to be concentrating on comics. Comics have always been my first love and is a term I prefer to Graphic Novels. A Graphic Novel is a long work with a grander scope. To call a Benny and Penny book a “novel” seems pretentious. Now that visual storytelling is accepted as a viable platform for children, I’m thrilled that I can work in the form I love best. Why are comics so well suited to teaching kids to read? There is something so immediate and personal about them. Kids are captivated by the pictures to such a degree that they will stick around to find out what the characters are saying. My stories have always been character-driven, as opposed to concept-driven, and this format allows me to tell my story through dialogue and personalities, as well as action. I believe this is what children respond to. Benny & Penny Lesson Plan DOWNLOAD HERE Created by a team of passionate literacy experts, the teacher's guide for Benny and Penny in How to Say Goodbye handles dealing with loss with tenderness and sensitivity. Visit TOON at the Miami Book Fair! The Miami Book Fair Street Fair is open 10 AM - 6 PM from Friday, November 18 to Sunday, November 20. Stop by the TOON Books booth in Section A for book signings and more--or attend one of Frank Viva's and James Sturm's sure-to-be-enlightening panels! James Sturm Birdsong: A Story in Pictures Ape and Armadillo Take Over the World Saturday, Nov 19 11 AM - 12 PM TOON Books booth in Section A Book signing with James Sturm Saturday, Nov 19 1 - 2 PM Wembly’s Author Stage (Children’s Alley Plaza) Fearsome Creatures or Fabulous New Friend? Armadillos plot world domination, a hungry creature with an empty belly may eat you, and a family of Neanderthals encounters strange creatures called humans, in James Sturm's Ape and Armadillo Take Over the World , Adam Lehrhaupt's I Will Not Eat You , and Jeffrey Brown's Lucy & Andy Neanderthal . Presentation includes Q&A and is followed by a signing. Sunday, Nov 20 4 - 5 PM TOON Books booth in Section A Book signing with James Sturm. Frank Viva Sea Change Saturday, Nov 19 12 - 1 PM TOON Books booth in Section A Book signing with Frank Viva Saturday, Nov 19 3:30 - 4:30 PM MAGIC Screening Room (Building 8, 1st Floor) Short Stories, Big Ideas. Masters of short-form comics, narrative illustration, and webcomics discuss the world of writing small and thinking big. Leela Corman ( We all Wish For Deadly Force ), Drew Weing ( Creepy Casefiles of Margo Maloo ) and Frank Viva ( Sea Change ) discuss. Moderated by Jessica Abel ( Trish Trash , Artbabe ). Presentation includes Q&A and is followed by a signing. Sunday, Nov 20 3:30 - 4:30 PM Wembly’s Author Stage (Children’s Alley Plaza) Growing Up is No Fun. A family living in a car must take care of themselves in Esta Spalding's Look Out for the Fitzgerald-Trouts ; a young boy learns how complicated things can get, in Frank Viva's Sea Change ; a down-on- his-luck boy finds the strength to cope, in Cammie McGovern's Just My Luck ; and a young boy must figure out how to manage the trials of growing up, in A-dziko Simba Gegele's All Over Again . Presentation includes Q&A and is followed by a signing. Sunday, Nov 20 12 - 1 PM TOON Books booth in Section A Book signing with Frank Viva Art Spigelman Jack and the Box Nadja Spiegelman Lost in NYC: A Subway Adventure Sunday, Nov 20 3 - 4 PM TOON Books booth in Section A Book signing with Nadja Spiegelman and Art Spigelman Drew Weing Flop to the Top! Friday, Nov 18 3:30 - 4:30 PM TOON Books booth in Section A Book signing with Drew Weing the co-author (along with Eleanor Davis) of Flop to the Top! 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