Benny's Had Enough

Benny’s Had Enough, written by Barbro Lindgren and illustrated by Olof Landstom, is a story about a young pig who gets fed up with his mother for being, well, his mother. He doesn’t want her to get his dinner together for him and he doesn’t want her to give him or his toy a bath. He gets so angry that he runs away to find a family who doesn’t make him eat his dinner or bathe.

To illustrate Benny’s theatrics and wild antics, Landstrom made sure to match Benny’s facial expressions to the story. Readers don’t even have to read the words to understand how Benny is feeling. The settings are detailed and very natural even though the story is a fantasy story. It is very colorful and and well, normal. It would  appeal to children because it looks like their homes, or homes they’ve seen.  The illustrations help to tell the story because Benny is very emotional so he need his emotions to show throughout the pictures – Landstrom does this perfectly. This is appealing because readers can look at Benny’s face and imagine a time when they might’ve looked like him and think about how angry they were.

An activity that could be used after reading this book is having students continue the story. The student could create additional plot and illustrate their ideas. This way, students know that they are capable of creating stories. After reading the story, students can discuss the repercussions of running away based on Benny’s adventures, ahem, misadventures.

 

Lindgren, B. (1999). Benny's had enough. Stockholm: R & S Books.