Benny suffers a severe blow to his pride when he meets Babe. He may be a wise guy, but she is at least three steps ahead of him, and they are on her territory.
Sequel to the No. 1 Bestseller Benny & Omar
Benny, the sports-mad, carefree lad whose adventures in Tunisia have convinced him that he can take on the world, suffers a severe blow to his pride when he meets Babe. He may be a wise guy, but she is at least three steps ahead of him. And he's on her territory.
Benny is visiting his grandfather in the country for the summer holidays and finds his position as a 'townie' make him the object of much teasing by the natives. Babe is the village tomboy, given serious respect by the all the local tough guys. She runs a thriving business, rescuing the lost lures and flies of visiting fishermen and selling them at a tidy profit. Babe just might consider Benny as her business partner. But things become very complicated, and dangerous, when Furty Howlin also wants a slice of the action.
And that's not the only problem for Benny. A disco reveals a transformed Babe– can they still be friends now that she is a real girl?
Benny and Babe was shortlisted for the Reading Association of Ireland Award 2001.
EOIN COLFER is the one of the world's favourite children's authors, and has written the international bestselling Artemis Fowl books. A former schoolteacher, Eoin lives in Wexford with his wife Jackie and sons Finn and Seán. He has worked in Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Italy, as well as in Ireland. Eoin is very involved in theatre and has written several plays, which have been staged in various parts of Ireland.
His first novel, Benny and Omar, was published by The O'Brien Press in October 1998 and was an immediate bestseller. It was applauded by critics because of its comic genius. International recognition soon followed with several translations published. His second book, Benny and Babe, was published in June 1999. It became a No 1 bestseller in Ireland, knocking the famous Harry Potter out of the top spot in the Bestseller List! The Wish List is the story of Meg Finn, a young teenager who dies, but is too good for Hell and too bad for Heaven. Back on earth she has a chance of salvation if she can fulfil the Wish List of pensioner Lowrie. Mission impossible for Meg?
Eoin's writing style is incredibly diverse as he has also written for the younger readers in the O'Brien Flyers series. For the series, which is aimed at 6+ readers, he has created the wonderful character of Ed Cooper, whose misadventures appear in Going Potty, Ed's Funny Feet and Ed's Bed.
Eoin has his own website with lots of information about his books.
'The best thing about Benny is his thinking patterns -- if you don't recognise yourself and a dozen friends somewhere in here, you're probably an alien'
'The story tells of a coming of age for Benny who overcomes his antagonism to females in general.'
'... there is a sequence ... of about twenty pages which is set at a disco at which Benny and Babe really discover themselves, and I have to say that, seriously, it is one of the most sustained pieces of comic writing that I have come across in an adult or children's book. It's brilliant.'
'Humour, sensitivity and candour underscore this coming-of-age story that features incredibly well-drawn characters ... This book has it all - an absorbing story, vibrant characters with whom readers will surely identify, and an on-target narrative voice.'
Download RBFS: Teaching ideas for sixth class from O'Brien Reading Programme
