Benny the Baffled Behemoth by Melissa Leembruggen, Illustrated by Trish McKinney
What in the world is a behemoth? From Job 40:15 in the Bible, “Look at the land beast, Behemoth. I created him as well as you . . . “ In addition to an animal being described in the Bible it also means something large in size or power. It’s these two ideas that form Benny the Baffled Behemoth by Melissa Leembruggen and illustrated by Trish McKinney, a faith-based picture book.
Benny is a young Behemoth. But he has a major problem. In fact, it’s a very colorful problem. In a black and white world, Benny is full of color and he doesn’t like to feel different. For each emotion that Benny feels he turns a different color. For example, “On Monday at the carnival, Benny’s friends didn’t share any cotton candy with him. Benny turned bright red with anger and breathed furious fire from his mouth.” A different emotion is conveyed for each day of the week and each night Benny goes to bed and wonders “Why was I created so colorfully?”
While at Sunday School, a wise old behemoth notices Benny’s sadness and reminds Benny that “Your King Creator made you to be a member of His family and to reflect His glory! Every one of those colors will serve a purpose in your life. You are a royal prince and never forget it.” It was then that Benny’s heart glowed a bright and beautiful royal purple and the book ends with the scripture 2 Corinthians 3:15-18.
The illustrations by Trish McKinney are a combination of sketches and watercolor and matched the feeling of the book. There were however two instances where the text flowed across the spread of two pages and I found it difficult to read without holding the book completely flat, which was difficult to do as I had one child in my lap and trying to show another one sitting on the floor. At the back of the book is a page that encourages interaction and dialogue about how emotions are often paired with colors, how is the reader like or not like Benny and further study about the King Creator, as well as background about the word Behemoth.
A portion of the profits from Benny the Baffled Behemoth goes to Heart for Africa, a faith-based humanitarian organization focused on bringing HOPE to Africans by targeting the areas of Hunger, Orphans, Poverty and Education. If you would like to serve in Africa or get more information visit www.heartforafrica.org.
This is the second title of Melissa’s that I’ve reviewed, the first being The Sudan Project. Melissa is an author that is inspiring in that she her writing to make a difference. I’m THRILLED to have Melissa guest post for us today about writing with multiple purposes and you will find that post next!
(Remember that African Bookworms Carnival? If all goes well, I should have it posted tomorrow.)
Links of interest: Heart for Africa, also reviewed on the Maw Books Blog by The Sudan Project: Rebuilding with the People of Darfur, A Young Person’s Guide and an interview with Melissa Leembruggen. Melissa serves as the president of Clay Bridges Communications and can also be found on Twitter @ClayBridges.
Genre: Christian Picture Book, approx ages 9-12
Published: Claybridge Communications, February 16, 2009
Paperback, 40 pages. ISBN: 0615232043
Benny the Baffled Behemoth by Melissa Leembruggen is available from Powell’s and Amazon.
Who’s excited for the movie?! I am. Maurice Sendak has worked closely in making sure the movie matched his vision and from what I understand is ecstatic with how it turned out. The movie will be released on October 16th of this year. Two more weeks! This is one that’s worth getting a babysitter for – that’s how I determine how all movies are lately – are they worth the cost of a babysitter and the price of a ticket?
