Geisel-Award Winning Mice are Back for More Fun

Young readers and their teachers are ready to embrace Benny and Penny in The Toy Breaker, which will be released in April alongside Zig and Wikki in Something Ate My Homework.

Just a few months after his last early reader comic book, Benny and Penny in the Big No-No, was awarded the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award by the American Library Association, bestselling author Geoffrey Hayes is giving TOON Books fans another charming tale featuring the mischievous mice.

In The Toy Breaker, Benny and Penny hide their toys from their destructive cousin. “This book holds so much power in its message,” said Andrew Kauffman, second-grade teacher at Chandler Elementary School in Indiana. “Students can really relate to [Benny and Penny’s] thoughts and feelings” in this expressive, beautifully crafted book.

Kauffman also praised the comic format as an exceptional educational tool: The “illustrations and comic layout really convey the important parts of the story to the students…Not only does this allow for students to see a different set-up in terms of reading style, but [it] conveys the sense of voice that we want our students to use” when developing their own work.

Young readers from Indiana to Oregon and Maine are sure to be delighted by Hayes’ thrilling new story. Look for it everywhere after its April 6^th release!

Librarians Across the Country Chime In

Our raffle entrants really know how to make a publishing house blush. Esther Frazee of Tenacre Country Day school says, “You have provided so many of the first/second graders I teach with fun books. You are making them love reading. I teach pK-6 and many parents come in to say ‘thank you’ when I send home a TOON book with their child."

Lucie Dubuc of St. John’s School adds, “I read Stinky and I’m in love with him! I want to offer all the series to the students in my library.”

We are still reeling over the news from the ALA Midwinter Meeting and wish to express our deepest gratitude to the gatekeepers of children’s literacy by extending our TOON Books Raffle. Best of luck and thank you for your continued love and support!