Review - What Are You Doing, Benny?

What Are You Doing, Benny?
by Cary Fagan
illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton
Date: 2019
Publisher: Tundra Books (NY)
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 36
Format: e-book
Source: NetGalley

From New York Times-bestselling illustrator Kady MacDonald Denton and award-winning author Cary Fagan comes a charming sibling story that has the makings of a contemporary classic.

Benny's little brother is really good at a lot of things -- making potions and paper airplanes, building forts, putting on puppet shows, even petting the neighbor's cat (he has a special way of scratching her just behind the ears). But whenever he tries to join in Benny's activities, all Benny ever says is "No." Maybe his little brother can watch him do cool stuff, if he's lucky. What is a little fox to do, except give Benny a taste of his own medicine? Totally familiar yet fresh and original, tenderly told and consistently funny, this story perfectly captures the joys (and annoyances!) of sibling relationships.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

Benny is kind of a jerk. The way he's drawn (and the activities he's doing) make him seem a lot older than his brother. Think a teenager and a kindergartner. As such, I expected a lot more tolerance from Benny. Instead, he comes across as kind of a narcissist. After the little brother gets fed up with trying to do stuff with Benny, he goes off and does his own thing. Only then does Benny want to spend any time with the kid. It's like he doesn't want to participate unless it's on his own terms. And then we see the little brother using the same tactics as Benny used (basically, shutting out his brother), which I don't think is a very healthy thing to be teaching.

I don't like the illustrations that much. They're almost... messy, for lack of a better word. The drawing style is kind of chaotic, and I don't care for it.

I also don't like the writing style. The dialogue isn't punctuated, so in the beginning I just assumed that most of the book was dialogue. But then, almost halfway in, the little brother starts narrating in the first person. That made me even more confused, because it was difficult to tell when he was talking to the audience and when he was talking to his brother. I prefer picture books to have clearer writing than that.

Overall, I wasn't impressed. By the end of the repetitive text, I couldn't stand the little brother much myself anymore. And the pictures aren't to my liking. I wouldn't recommend this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tundra Books (NY) for providing a digital ARC.

Premise: 3/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 2/5
Illustrations: 2/5
Originality: 3/5

Enjoyment: 1/5

Overall: 2 out of 5