任何一門語言的學習，都要從聽說開始，大量的有效輸入才能促成輸出，因此對于兒童的英語啟蒙，我們的著眼點也必須從聽和說開始，聽、說、讀、寫這個基本的語言學習順序耳熟能詳，人人都能脫口而出，但真正能照此實施的人卻非常少。我們編寫這套書的目的，就是希望能夠幫助英語啟蒙的兒童，利用生動有趣的圖書形式和內容素材，真正提高聽說能力，讓英語能夠在人際交流中靈活運用起來，徹底走出上一代人學啞巴英語的誤區。
這套《兒童英語聽說繪本》按照詞匯、句式和故事的難度，共分為3級，本系列是其中的第2級，內含8冊全英文繪本故事、1冊英語聽說學習指南和1張flash有聲光盤。8冊繪本故事中的《**不可以》獲得蘇斯博士金獎，整個套系被評為紐約時報暢銷書等數十個榮譽獎項。
第2級適合英語聽說進階級兒童學習，每篇300-500個高頻詞，以短句和短句的重復為主，在一個略復雜背景下集合幾個人物組成故事。除了8冊繪本以外，為了更好地幫助家長在家庭中和孩子利用這套繪本學英語，我們邀請到資深的幼兒英語老師從，從讀圖、基本詞匯、主題詞匯、常用口語和句型、親子問答、拓展游戲這6個方面入手，安排學習和游戲環節。爸爸媽媽們可以依照這本指導手冊的教學節奏和拓展游戲來幫助孩子完成這套書的英文聽說學習。另外，還有一張配套flash朗讀光盤，標準美語錄制，可聽可看，讓孩子學英語如看動畫片般輕松愉快。
Benny and his little sister Penny have a big problem--their cousin Bo is coming to visit. Every toy he plays with breaks! They come up with a plan to hide all of their toys, but how are they going to play with no toys? As in Benny and Penny in Just Pretend and Benny and Penny in the Big No-No, Hayes tells a simple story about a situation that will be instantly familiar to young children. He doesn't preach and he doesn't talk down to readers. His characters are realistic children, even if they are drawn as mice. They solve problems the way that kids would solve them, sometimes crying for their mom and sometimes working things out on their own. His simple text is easy for early readers to follow on their own, and complicated words like loot are defined within the text. Contractions are occasionally used, but they are often next to a text bubble that has the full words, so it makes it easier for beginning readers to see how the contractions are created.
Hayes's art has a picture-book quality to it but still uses the comic medium to full effect. The color palette is soft but not so soft as to be babyish, and it seems to be done in pencils, giving the book its picture-book quality. But unique use of perspective and a variety of panel styles show that Hayes knows comics. The fonts are clear and easy to read, with certain words highlighted as in comic books. The combination of picture book and comic book make this an excellent transition book both for early readers and for parents who aren't graphic novel readers. Whether readers are looking for an early-reader title with a realistic, interesting plot or they want a graphic novel that they can read just like their older brothers or sisters (or like mommy and daddy!), Hayes' Benny and Penny series is some of the best of the already excellent Toon Book line. After The Toy Breaker, readers will be eager to see more of Benny and Penny.
-- Snow Wildsmith
