Kirkus Reviews

A young fox cub just wants to play with big brother Benny.Benny builds a fort, makes a paper airplane and a sandwich, rides a bike, plays guitar, and more. His unnamed younger sib enthusiastically promotes the many ways in which they could enhance these activities—but, alas, to no avail. Benny's answer is always a resounding, "No." Benny seems to know the effect his rejections have on his sibling, signaling this awareness with a subtle, sly look of satisfaction. When the little cub withdraws from the action, Benny comes and tells the younger fox he is going out, fully expecting his sib to follow, which the cub does, only to face further rejection. Finally the cub decides to put on a puppet show alone, engaging in mimicry of those interactions. And the next time Benny invites the cub, it's the younger child's turn to say, "No, thanks." Surprised, Benny brings a sandwich as a peace offering, and they play with the puppets together. Relating the tale in the first person by the younger fox in child-friendly dialogue and with delightfully imaginative imagery, Fagan treats the sibling relationship with humor and kindness, leading to a win-win outcome. Placed in a series of individual boxes, along with single- and double-page spreads, Denton's softly hued ink, watercolor, and gouache illustrations present a well-to-do fox burrow and a plethora of details that make each incident and emotion fully realized.A lovely, gentle exercise in getting along. (Picture book. 3-7)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

This amusing tale of two young foxes by Fagan (Little Blue Chair) captures the ups and downs of sibling relationships. Benny-s little brother wants to join in on the fun as Benny paints in the treetops, rides his bike, and scratches a cat, but each time he shows enthusiasm (-I-m terrific at making potions-), Benny responds with a cool -No.- This doesn-t stop the younger sibling from pestering, nor Benny from dismissing him, even if Benny does continually stop by the younger-s burrow room to check in. Finally, fed up with the constant rejections, including Benny-s refusal to make him a splendid-looking sandwich, the younger fox decides to set up his own puppet show, starring a frog-and-crocodile duo playing out a situation similar to his own (-No, no, no!- says the haughty croc). When Benny re-enters the room with his own requests, it becomes clear that turnabout is fair play-at least until a peace-brokering sandwich appears. Earth-toned ink, watercolor, and gouache illustrations by Denton (A Visitor for Bear) convey sibling dynamics with aplomb, lending a certain timelessness to this relationship. Ages 3-7. (Apr.)

School Library Journal (Mon Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2019)

PreS-Gr 1 A sweet story about how it's much more fun to do anything when you're deliberately not allowing a younger sibling to join. Benny is busy, but his little brother is desperately and inexpertly trying to convince Benny to let him join in. Each entreaty, no matter how convincing, is met with a resounding no. Mostly what Benny wants is to be followed around by his adoring little brother so that he can continue to say no. But even little brothers have their limits, and when Benny's little brother's patience is finally exhausted, it is up to Benny to make amends and, finally, maybe, say yes. Watercolor and gouache illustrations create a delicate and detailed background for the two fox brothers. The story is told in the first person, and the small black text grows in size as Benny's little brother becomes more and more frustrated. The expertly drawn facial expressions depict Benny's smug contrariness and his little brother's sad downcast eyes. Pages are often divided into small quarter panels to highlight the little brother's quick, excited questions and give perfect comedic timing to the inevitable "no." This is an excellent and realistic portrayal of the balance and kindness of sibling relationships. VERDICT Hand this to fans of Lauren Child's "Charlie and Lola" books. Laken Hottle, Providence Community LibraryI